The Lottery
by UnicornMachine
Summary: Once every so often the country hosts a lottery. The winners of said lottery are taken to the King's castle. What happens after that, is, well, anyone's guess.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.** First and foremost, I'm really sexy guys. I just wanted to throw that one out there. Secondly, this will be a seriously AU story. I'll try to keep a lot of original plot elements and of course I'll try my hardest to make everyone in character, but some things will be different. Well, you'll see. Also, feel free to tell me anything you'd like in the story, and I'll try to work it in c: I'll get more into pairings and stuff later, I just need to set everything up first. Happy reading~

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><p>Kurt groaned, breathing in deeply, stretching his arms out over his head. He had been so excited last night he couldn't even sleep. Now that morning finally came he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed. It was so warm and comfy.<p>

He heard a soft knocking on his door from the other side.

"You up, Kurt?" He heard his dad call.

"Yes, Dad," Kurt called back, sitting up slowly. His eyes felt heavy with tiredness, and he rubbed them in a vain attempt to wake up. Why hadn't he felt this way last night, when he could actually of used the sleep?

"Try to, well, just try not to take forever. We almost missed it last time. And you never know, you might win." Kurt scoffed, and stood, stretching out more. He could hear his dad laughing from behind the door. "Just try to hurry kiddo," his dad said before hurrying off to presumably get ready himself. It was a big occasion after all.

Kurt walked to his closet, and gazed longingly at his amazing assortment of accessories. Sadly, none of them would be coming into play with his outfit today. The Lottery was only held once every year or two, he remembered once there was a three year break. It was always a black tie sort of event.

That's why he ignored all of, by his standards, his nicest clothes. Instead he reached to the way back, pulling one of the most boring black suits he had ever seen out. He glared at it, honestly not wanting anything to do with it. But, maybe if he pinned on one of hi- wait, no. Stop it. He mentally scolded himself.

He slipped on the boring thing unceremoniously, sighing. He would have to make sure his hair was flawless to make up for how boring his outfit was. Not that his hair wasn't always flawless. A quick glance to the mirror fixed to his closet door proved that last thought wrong.

His hair was sticking up at odd angles, a tell tale sign of his rough sleep last night. Why couldn't they of had the Lottery yesterday when his hair was looking absolutely amazing? And seriously, why so early in the morning? No one was going anywhere, Lottery days were practically holidays.

Everyone in the town got together, absolutely everyone. After much anticipation they'd finally announce the winners, always someone from somewhere far off that no one knew of or cared about. Never once had Kurt known any of the winners, which would probably be expected. The country was a very big place, and he had never been out of his town.

After the nameless whoever got called out, everyone would stay politely in each other's company until late in the night. No one worked on Lottery Day. They couldn't risk the chance of winning and missing it. Not like they'd have the ability to just 'miss' it.

Kurt let his mind wander from subject to subject as he tamed his unruly hair. It hadn't even taken him that long, his dad would be proud. Emerging from his room, he made the short trip down the hallway to meet his dad in their small kitchen.

He grimaced at seeing the exact same outfit he was in clad on his dad. He really couldn't stand looking identical to anyone, let alone the whole town. His dad smiled upon seeing him.

"Not too shabby, Son," Burt commented with an approving nod. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I resent that."

"I figured you would," Burt said, wrapping an arm around Kurt. Kurt leaned into his father's warm embrace. Burt wasn't really the affectionate, touchy-feely type, so Kurt learned long ago to savor the rare moments when they came.

With a squeeze to his shoulder, the moment was gone as quick as it appeared. They headed to the door, town square their destination. The Lottery wouldn't start for another hour or so, but it was nice to get their early to socialize. Some families even got there five or so hours before the Lottery began.

They saw a few other families who lived in their apartment building on their way down to the ground floor. They mostly had pleasant smiles on their faces, wishing them a Happy Lottery Day. No one had even cut Kurt a dirty look, and that was saying something.

Not that all of his neighbors were ignorant, biased, hateful people, but a select few were. Burt called them old-fashioned. Kurt called them self righteous.

The air conditioned state of the apartment building was immediately missed upon stepping into the dry heat of outside. The sun beat down hotly, creating heat lines in the distance. Kurt stood close to Burt, unused to the sidewalks being so crowded. He was almost shoulder to shoulder with others, all heading to the center of town.

"Hey, Boo!" A familiar voice called. Kurt quickly turned on the spot, a smile plastered on his face. Mercedes, his best girl, was quickly weeding through the crowd to get to him. Her parents and little sister watched her go from behind. Kurt offered them a small wave, which they returned with a smile.

"Mercedes!" Kurt exclaimed, immediately linking arms with her. She took a moment to regain her breath before flashing him a dazzling smile. "Don't you look nice." She really did. Her long black hair was curled, framing her face. She had the lightest dusting of makeup on, giving her a natural looking glow.

"Mmmmhmmm, I should. You know Mister Rashad'll be all over this." Kurt smiled.

"Hmm, finally going to make your move? I told you, you two would be great together." Mercedes made a noise of affirmation. They kept on the herd of people until they spilled out into the large empty block, the Lottery stage already set up.

Everyone crowded around the stage, conversing lazily with one another. Atop the stage were large speakers, big and loud enough to fill the entire town with noise. At the set time they would announce the winners of the Lottery.

Just staring at the giant, black speakers gave Kurt a chill. He wondered if he would know the winners this year. Mercedes held his arm a little tighter when she realized what he was looking at.

"I always get so nervous right before they draw winners, I don't know why," Mercedes mused in his ear. "You just have a one in a million shot." Kurt nodded, his breath hitching ever so slightly.

_Hello, thank you for attending Lottery Day. If you did not get your registry forms filled and turned in beforehand please see your local Lottery Agent,_ a cool, female voice emitted from the speakers. The voice echoed and rang throughout the town, although it wasn't painful, being so close. It was almost like her voice was inside of your head, instead of coming from the speakers.

Of course Kurt had registered for this months ago, as did everyone else in the town. Not registering, well, that was just unheard of. It was mere protocol to remind them of registry.

Kurt looked around at all the familiar faces, all the people he had known all his life. His eyes rested on his dad for a fraction of a second, who was happily chatting it up with a man Kurt had seen around the house several times. Apparently he worked with Burt, and had a daughter about Kurt's age. His dad used to try to hook them up a lot before, well.. Before he found out Kurt was gay.

"Kurt! I-I think they're starting!" Mercedes whispered harshly in his ear. He could feel her heart beating against his arm as she clutched it with a python-like grip. He had been staring off into the crowds absentmindedly, not paying much mind to the voice inside his head.

He tried to pay attention, but Mercedes kept rattling off in his ear.

"Kurt, what if, oh god what if they pick Anthony? I know it's far fetched but oh god what if I never get to be with him? Or what if them pick my dad? Would they pick a dentist? You know that's kind of an important job. Oh god, what if-" Mercedes's voice dropped to a low mumble as she too became transfixed in the voice almost in her head.

_And the results are in. Thank you all for participating in the Lottery. _Kurt stopped breathing, only faintly aware of Mercedes's painful grip. _Our first winner, from Lima District, _Kurt's heart stopped. _Is Mister Kurt Hummel. _His brain stopped.

_Congratulations,_ the voice said, but all Kurt heard were the syllables. He couldn't make sense of anything. He felt light headed, sick to his stomach, he couldn't breath. He was faintly aware of Mercedes's grip slackening, the syllables of the other winner repeated in that cool voice in his head. There was only one thing he could focus on.

_One in a million. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A**.**N.** Blarggg I didn't have time to read over, so please excuse any typos c:~ Thanks for the kind reviews guys, they mean a lot. Happy reading~

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><p>The noise volume seemed to be cranked up tenfold, yet nothing distinguishable to Kurt's ears. It was a dull roar being pushed to the back of his mind.<p>

"Oh _hell_ to the no!" He heard Mercedes yell in her signature pissed-off-black-girl voice. If he was still comprehending what was going on he would of been immediately grateful. A hand rested on Kurt's shoulder, the grip unfamiliar and cold. Mercedes wrenched his arm, practically dragging him away. "Get your goddamn hand off of him!"

"Ma'am, please, he has to come with us. He's a winner," an unfamiliar male voice said, and the pressure of the hand on his shoulder returned. "Congratulations, Kurt Hummel."

"No no no no no!" Mercedes was now sobbing, her face buried into the crook of Kurt's neck. "Please draw again, please.." The unfamiliar man quite literally pried Mercedes off of Kurt, who was in the middle of having an emotional breakdown of sorts. Occasionally snippets of phrases were heard, such as 'baby', 'please', and 'isn't fair'.

Kurt noticed none of this, however. His eyes were fixated as if by a magnetic force on his dad. He met Kurt's gaze with the most pained expression Kurt had ever seen etched into his face.

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><p>It took Kurt awhile to regain his senses. He only faintly remembered being half dragged out of the town square by the unfamiliar man, who he could only assume was a Lottery Agent. He hadn't ever really seen one up close before.<p>

The Lottery Agent had light, sandy hair, which was buzzed down to a sort of crew cut. His eyes were obscured by black sunglasses, but besides that, he looked totally ordinary. It's no wonder Kurt hadn't specifically noticed him in the crowd. It almost looked like he was made to blend in.

Once outside the town square, another two Lottery Agents joined them. Kurt wasn't too sure on this next part, but he's pretty sure they boarded a bullet train of some sort. The trains were only ever used to transport people or product from town to town. He had never before ridden one, and if he were in a clearer state of mind he would of been excited.

The buildings of the town dispersed quickly once the train got moving. Almost immediately they were in what looked like an endless expanse of land, no buildings or streets anywhere. The only proof that they were still in modern times were the train tracks laid out in front of and behind them.

Kurt looked out the window for awhile, his mind empty. Slowly, though, as he regained his composure from the shock he had several burning questions. He looked to the Lottery Agents sitting near him, and wondered if he was free to ask. The silence was uncomfortable to say the least. Oh well, what's the worst that can happen?

"Uhm," Kurt said, looking to the sandy haired agent who originally brought him here. All three Lottery Agents in the cart looked to him, and he immediately wished he hadn't said anything. "Wh-where are we... going?" Kurt asked slowly, afraid his voice would fail him.

"The King's castle." The sandy haired agent said simply, his voice not threatening. Just monotone. His answer wasn't really that helpful.

"Why?" Kurt asked.

"Because it's where all winners go." The man said in that same monotone. Wait, he said winners. That's right, sometimes more than one person did win. But how many won this year? He was pretty sure there was just one other name called, but he couldn't be sure.

"Who else won?" Kurt asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I'm not sure, honestly. Hey," he called to another agent. "Who was the other winner again?" The agent shrugged.

"Someone from Dalton district, I'm pretty sure."

"Eh, sorry. We were just told to get you to the castle safe, we didn't really hear much about the other guy." Kurt nodded, feeling like the agent was becoming more of a person the more they spoke. His voice wasn't so monotone now, he seemed almost, well, almost a little friendly.

"Oh, okay. What happens once we get to the castle?" Kurt ventured, feeling a little more confident. The agent smiled widely.

"We'll let you figure that one out for yourself. Besides, we're just about there." Another agent laughed upon hearing the answer. Kurt nodded slowly, his previous confidence gone. There was an unsettling in his stomach as he looked out the window again. The train was slowing down a little, he hadn't noticed before. Ever so slowly a castle seemed to be approaching, looking like something out of a picture.

Stone walls and towers, if there was a moat it would honestly just be the icing on the cake. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky a pink and blue color. When did that happen? Last he knew it was still around noontime. He shook his head, hoping to clear his thoughts. He really needed to get it together if he was going to meet the King.

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><p>Much sooner than he had expected, the train came to a stop by the castle. His heart beat wildly in his chest, his excitement fresh. He had to make sure to remember every detail of the castle, of everything. Mercedes would die to hear about this, once he got back home. He had always wondered in the back of his mind what happened to the winners. He was about to find out.<p>

The castle gates were opened wide, and the guards simply nodded to the Lottery Agents guiding him. At the castle door, _oh god he was so close!_, the agents had to flash I.D.'s to be allowed entry. Kurt swallowed, looking around, his eyes wide. He had never before seen a place so, well, so big.

The floors were solid tinos green marble, smooth and shiny. A dual staircase led to the upstairs, and Kurt could hardly see the ceiling, which had some sort of starry painting on it, to look like the night sky. The agents led him straight down the corridor, when they heard the castle doors open again.

In walked three more Lottery Agents, escorting who Kurt could only assume was the other winner. Kurt felt a smile creep on his lips as he saw the amazed expression of the winner. He was absolutely adorable.

Kurt and his agents stopped walking, and the other group caught up.

"This the other winner?" One of the agents asked, gesturing towards Kurt. The sandy haired agent nodded.

"Yeah, we should send them in. I don't want Rachel on my ass about keeping them waiting."

"Right, uh, you two," an agent gestured to Kurt and the other winner. "You should head on in," he gestured to the door at the end of the corridor. Kurt and the other winner nodded slowly, and started walking towards the door.

"So, you're, uh, Kurt, right?" The other winner said. Kurt smiled at him and nodded.

"I didn't catch your name, I was kind of in shock." The other winner smiled warmly at him, and Kurt noticed he had the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.

"Blaine Anderson." He extended a hand, and Kurt took it. His hand was so warm, but not nearly as soft as Kurt's own. Kurt's breath hitched when he realized the door was so close. Thankfully Blaine pushed it open, because Kurt was pretty sure he couldn't move.

Standing at the other side of the door was a beautiful blonde girl. Her long curls framed her soft face. She was wearing a silky pink gown that practically sparkled in the light. She smiled upon seeing them.

"Hello, I'm Quinn, Adviser to the King," Even her voice was soft and sweet. "I take it you're Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, our winners?" Kurt nodded, feeling calmed by Quinn's sweetness. He could only assume Blaine nodded next to him. "Right this way, then."

She led them into a golden room. The floors were gold, the furniture, the walls, all decorations. Honestly it made Kurt's eyes water.

His attention was drawn to a man sitting in one of the golden armchairs. On a golden plate he had a... a grilled cheese sandwich? He was staring at it with a mixture of awe and admiration, and Quinn openly glared at it.

"Here, let me take that away, the winners are here," she said in a cool voice. It took Kurt a moment before he realized it was her voice! She was the announcer of the Lottery! For some reason, this hit him harder than anything else he had seen today. He couldn't wait to tell Mercedes he had met the announcer!

"No, no it's okay. I want him here," he man in the chair said. Kurt almost refused to believe he could be King. First off, he looked so... awkward. Just so giant and out of place. And he really couldn't be very intelligent. He was referring to a sandwich as if it were a person. "Hey guys, I'm Finn."

Kurt and Blaine shared a skeptical look, entirely unsure of how to respond. Shouldn't meeting the King be more, official, maybe? More of a big deal? When they didn't respond, he continued.

"So, like, I bet you're wondering why you're here. Well, I started thinking if like, well not me but I thought it too," he began, even his voice was awkward. He got a confused expression on his face, like he wasn't sure how to continue. Just then, a voice from behind them piped up.

"I'm sorry, he's not very good at, well, speaking." Kurt turned to see a girl clad in a dark brown silk gown striding up. The gown matched her thick dark hair, which fell to behind her back. She had large brown eyes, similar to Blaine's but didn't nearly have as much depth. Quinn made no effort to hide her open glare. "I'm Rachel, Adviser to the King," she introduced herself, extending a hand to Blaine, then Kurt which they shook.

"I'm so glad you've made it here safely. Congratulations on winning, I have a really good feeling about them," she looked to Quinn, who reluctantly nodded in agreement. "We've been let down a lot recently by the previous winners," she said, almost as if to herself.

"Why?" Blaine asked, as if reading Kurt's mind.

"Oh, well, they've died," Rachel said with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. **Mehmehmeh. I am a master of suspense~

Gahh, all your reviews are giving me a big head :D Not that I'm complaining ;o Anyways so I honestly can't help it, I love me some Klaine. I had to add a little set up in this chapter, lest I die~

Btw, shout out to my homebiscuit Alii-wa! -flails hands in the air- she wanted me to say she's cute :D

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><p>Kurt's breath caught in his throat, choking him. He coughed a few times while Blaine asked his questions for him.<p>

"W-What? Th-they died?" Blaine asked, his voice wavering. Rachel stopped glaring at Quinn to look at Kurt and Blaine in confusion.

"Well, yes," she began slowly. Quinn scoffed.

"Way to go, they're terrified now," Quinn cut Rachel off. Rachel looked deeply offended at this.

"I did not!"

"Did so! Just look at them!"

"How do you know they're not just in shock over being so close to high ranking officials!"

"You are so full of yourself!" They kept on like this for some time. Kurt looked to Blaine who met his gaze with an equally confused expression. The King of Finn or whatever Kurt was suppose to call him simply looked bored, as if these screaming matches were nothing new. Apparently the only thing to do was just wait until the two advisers ran out of steam.

"_Finn_!" Rachel screeched. "How can you just sit there and let her say those things to me?" Finn looked up confused, looking from Rachel to Quinn, who were both glaring at him expectantly. He simply shrugged. Rachel let out a loud noise of annoyance before storming our of the golden room dramatically. On her way out Kurt was pretty sure she knocked a lamp off of a table for dramatic effect. All in all it was one of the most dramatic diva storm offs Kurt had ever seen.

"Anyways, so, uh, I was saying, where was I?" Finn looked around confused, obviously unfazed by Rachel's storm off. Quinn smiled at him sweetly, her vulture-like glare totally diminished.

"Have you ever wondered why you can't travel from town to town, except under very specific circumstances?" She asked with that same sweet smile. Kurt thought for a minute. He didn't think it was particularly strange travel was forbidden, everyone he knew lived in Lima District. Why would he have any reason to leave?

"I guess," Blaine voiced for him. He nodded in agreement, just to see where she would go with the train of thought.

"Other places aren't exactly safe, you see. We here, the ones in charge of the country's affairs, try our hardest to keep things under wraps. Sealing people off into specific districts and not letting them leave really is the best option." Something about the way she worded that made it sound, well, kind of unfair.

"What if they wanted to leave?" Kurt asked slowly. Quinn grimaced.

"Honestly, they wouldn't want to. We have plenty of foreigners lining up to get into our country, as it's one of the only left safe places. Our citizens are best left ignorant on the topic." Although interesting, Kurt really couldn't see how this information tied into the Lottery. At any rate, why would they tell him and Blaine all of this if they wanted it to be a big secret?

"I'm sorry, but what exactly does this have to do with us?" Blaine voiced for him. Kurt couldn't help but admire how dapper his speech was, even at a moment like this.

"You see," Quinn began. "We can't have anyone knowing what's going on in the outside world, but we still need to contribute to the defense. How could we establish who would be best suited for defending, without letting the people know what we were doing? That's where the Lottery comes in. When you register for the Lottery, just signing your name on the slip would honestly be enough, but we have you fill out a personal questionnaire just to match your answers up for accuracy." Although this cleared some things up, it opened up a lot more questions.

"Defense? Defending what?" Kurt asked nervously. Why would they want him for defending anything? He wasn't particularly strong or fast. Blaine certainly looked a little stronger and stockier than him, but by no means the most impressive he's ever seen. Quinn made a thoughtful face.

"I'm sorry, it's just I go through this whole thing every few years and I sometimes leave stuff out," she apologized quickly. "You see, well, there's not a whole lot of information on what exactly happened, but at one point in time, two worldwide superpower countries got into some sort of horrible argument. Nowadays we only refer to them as the Dark Lands and the Light Lands, but I suppose they had different names at one point in time.

The Queen of the Dark Lands started doing some pretty awful things all around the world, in spite of the Light Queen. You two," she gestured to Kurt and Blaine. "Will be getting a first hand look at some of those things. Essentially your job is to try to restore peace between these two countries," Kurt couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay, this is getting a little ridiculous," he cut her off. "For starters, we have never heard a single thing about this war until about three minutes ago. And you're all gung ho for us to just jump right in and try to fix everything? How do you even expect us to know how to fix whatever problem the two countries have with each other?" Finn looked up from his plate of grilled cheese, and looked to Quinn.

"You know, that's almost exactly what the other guys said," he began. Quinn waved a hand to the side, as if brushing off what he said.

"It's the best we can do, boys. I'm not saying the system is perfect and flawless, but, well," she looked momentarily uncomfortable, as if she were debating whether or not to say something else. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you how, right now, anyways, but we have a way of knowing which citizens will be most compatible and best suited for completing this task. Believe it or not, we aren't just choosing people at random. You two were drawn together for a reason.

As for how to go about completing your task, well, all I can say is do something the others didn't. Pay attention to your surroundings, don't be afraid to ask for help, be courteous, be creative, and don't be afraid to get dirty. You have the ability to do this together. The other winners honestly could of done it, and were very close, but they ended up straying from the other or making stupid mistakes. It'll be hard, but we," she gestured to Finn and herself. Finn was wearing an unaccustomed serious expression, nodding to what Quinn was saying. "believe in you."

Kurt certainly wasn't expecting such a heartfelt speech from the pretty blonde girl. He was definitely taken by surprise. Honestly it should be surprising anything could do that to him, after everything he's been thought today.

"We'll do our best," he heard Blaine say, and felt himself nodding in agreement. Quinn flashed them a sweet smile.

"I know you can do it," she said before running towards the door. Kurt had no idea where she was going, maybe to gloat to Rachel? Finn, or King, or whatever stood up, still holding his golden plate of grilled cheese in hand. Kurt had seriously underestimated how tall he was, he positively towered over both Kurt and Blaine.

"So you two dudes, you can like, go to bed, or get some food or something. The cook's pretty good, I guess. She made this," he gestured to his grilled cheese. "Anyways you'll probably leave tomorrow or something, I'm not too sure. Rachel and Quinn normally handle this stuff, they think I'll mess it up. I thought I handled it okay that one time, except for the winner landing in that Parana lake. I just thought it'd be cool to land somewhere by parachute, you know?" Kurt looked to Blaine, who looked just as uncomfortable as he did. Kurt offered him a shrug.

"Right," Kurt said, feeling like it was best to agree with him. Finn nodded.

"I'm glad someone agrees with me, you know, you're pretty cool. If you make it out okay we should hang out or something," Kurt and Blaine shared another uncomfortable look. Finn didn't seem to notice. "Oh, so, anyways the kitchens you'll be able to find, just follow your nose, you know? I'd give you more specific instructions but I'm not too sure myself, it's what I always do anyways. And when you're tired, well... I'm not too sure where all the bedrooms are either, but normally I can find one after a few tries, just try the doors, you know? Anywhere's fine. If you're going to be sleeping in there just use one of those sign thingies, I forget what they're called, just so no one else goes in there to sleep. Just make yourself at home, I'm sure Rachel or someone will find you to set off. Uhh, I think that's all. Later dudes," he finished unceremoniously, offered them an awkward sort of wave, and turned to leave.

Blaine turned to Kurt, and offered him a hopefully reassuring smile.

"I'm sure we'll do great," Blaine said, and Kurt couldn't help but feel his heart drop. Here Blaine was just as confused and kind of scared as Kurt was, and yet Blaine was trying to comfort him. Kurt smiled back.

"I'm sure we will," he said, before thinking a moment. "They really are kind of weird."

"Tell me about it," Blaine said, and an awkward silence settled in. Both boys just stood there entirely unsure of what to do with themselves. "So should we like, I dunno, sleep or get food or something?" Blaine asked slowly, trying to fight off the awkward.

"You're sounding a lot like Finn," Kurt quipped, and Blaine felt himself smile. He could really start to like this guy. "Now that I think about it though, I am pretty hungry." And with that they set off to find the kitchens. Finn's vague description of 'follow your nose' proved to be of no help, and before they knew it they had been wandering the corridors for half an hour.

"You know what Blaine? I give up. I say we just find a room and sleep," Kurt stated in defeat. The castle looked big from the outside, sure, but he had no idea just how big it was on the inside. Everything was so well furnished and lush, it was like a dream.

"We just find a room, right?" Blaine asked, his voice unsure. Kurt nodded.

"It's kind of weird, but I honestly don't care at this point. Besides didn't we find a room somewhere back?" Blaine thought for a minute.

"I think so, let's see if we can find it again." After about ten more minutes of searching, they weren't able to find the room Kurt was thinking of, but they did find a room. Designed much like the golden room they talked to Finn, Quinn, and Rachel in, it was completely in one color. The walls, plush carpet, a desk by a window framed with heavy curtains, even the ridiculously giant bed in the center of the room were all blue. Blaine lifted an eyebrow at the odd arrangement, but chose not to comment on it.

"I honestly want to throttle whoever their interior designer is," Kurt stated simply, while looking around the room. Blaine looked down to notice he was still in his Lottery Day clothes, he would have to change, but, wh- Oh. He watched Kurt open the drawer of the desk, pulling out silky blue pajamas. He probably should of thought of that. Maybe they were meant to work together.

Kurt threw him a pair and he immediately started changing. That's when Kurt started feeling awkward for about the millionth time that day. A part of him almost wanted to run over to Blaine, smack him, and yell _Don't you know I'm gay? _Whether Blaine realized or not, he obviously didn't have a problem with it, so Kurt followed suit.

And then came the million and one time today he felt awkward. There was only one bed. Although it was large enough for about four people to sleep comfortably, Kurt still didn't kno- Oh wait, Blaine just got in without thinking. Kurt stood there lamely for a second.

"Are you coming?" Blaine asked incredulously.

"Uhh, yeah, I'm just going to fold my clothes," Kurt said quickly, folding up his suit. He finished far quicker than he would of liked, and slowly slipped into the bed as physically far away from Blaine as he could. Blaine obviously didn't mind, as it seemed he had already fallen asleep. It took Kurt awhile to relax, he had never been in a bed with another guy before. Finally he did, and he drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.** Hey guys! Thank you all sooooo much for your kind reviews! I really couldn't write without you guys c: This chapter is really laid back and (hopefully) funny, sorry, I really couldn't help myself~ There's not going to be a lot more chances for humor, so I'll shove it in where it can fit. Tell me what you think! :D

Also, giant shout out to my buddy Tara, aww yeah~! She's sexy~ :D

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><p>When Kurt woke up, he was under the impression he was still in bed at home, simply waking from a very deep, very long sleep. Then, two things hit him like a brick wall. One, there was a body pressed tightly against him, and two everything was blu- <em>holyfuckingshit who is that?<em> Kurt was pretty sure his heart stopped as he jerked away slightly, trying to be as sly as possible.

As soon as he made the slightest move whoever the hell it was groaned, tightening their arms around Kurt, pulling him closer. He had no idea who it was but they were so warm and smelled so nice and now was really not the time to be thinking like that. His breath hitched in his throat, and he looked around desperately, trying to formulate a means of escape, when-wait since went were his walls blue? And that's when it all came back to him.

His memory of yesterday was faded as if he were thinking about something that happened over a year ago. He remembered waking up and, _oh, right, _it was Lottery Day, so he and his Dad set out to the celebrations when... Right. When he found out he was one of the winners. So then he went to the castle, right? Yeah, that was it. Then some loud girl broke a lamp, he remembered that clearly enough.

She was mad because of a fight with the Lottery Announcer, oh yeah, he met the announcer. That was pretty cool. Because, _ohdeargod. _They were all absolutely crazy. His heart pounded wildly at his chest as he replayed the conversation he had with Quinn in his head. Totally forgetting about the warm stranger spooned up against him, he moved to quickly sit up, effectively shoving whoever it was to the side harshly.

Whoever it was woke up with a gasp, then Kurt saw his face and- oh hey wait... it was just Blaine. Wait, not that it was JUST Blaine, Kurt had known this man for almost a day, what right did he have to hold him like that? But then again, his arms were so warm and he looked absolutely gorgeous in this lighting. When Kurt saw the confused and slightly shocked look on Blaine's face, well, he really couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

Proving laughter is contagious, after a moment Blaine started laughing too.

"Well, good morning to you too," Blaine stated, sitting up. Oh god he was just too perfect, the rude wake up didn't even faze him.

"I'm sorry," Kurt began immediately. "I woke up and I forgot where I was and I was really scared." He could feel the blush creeping on his cheeks as Blaine studied him, his amusement evident. Wait, why was he even apologizing? He wasn't the one who cuddled up to someone he barely knew last night. Shouldn't this be awkward? Why wasn't this awkward?

"That's understandable, to say the least," Blaine said. He casually leaned back down on the bed, his arms folded behind his head. "Yesterday was... Quite a shock." Kurt nodded in agreement, when a thought struck him.

"Finn said we would be leaving from here soon, right?" Blaine nodded. "Does that mean we can't see our families before we have to leave..?" Kurt asked slowly, voicing the thoughts as they came to his head. Blaine seemed startled by this new revelation too.

"I-I guess so," he began. When he saw the mixture of shock and sadness on Kurt's face, he sat up, scooting closer. When Kurt wouldn't meet his gaze Blaine wrapped an arm loosely around him. "What's wrong?" Blaine asked, as if it wasn't obvious. Kurt breathed in deeply.

"I'm just," Kurt began, his voice quivering. "I guess I'm just going to really miss my dad," Kurt finally met his gaze, and he looked just... Well, just so totally vulnerable. Blaine momentarily lost his words.

"Hey, don't worry," Blaine tried to comfort him. "You'll see him again really soon. Remember what Quinn said? She believes in us," something about the way Blaine said that last word made Kurt shiver involuntarily. Kurt leaned into Blaine more, his head resting on Blaine's shoulder while he contemplated what was said. Blaine took this as a good sign, tightening his arm around Kurt's waist.

They didn't move for a long while, simply enjoying each other's company. Kurt wasn't sure how but just the way Blaine was holding him made him feel a lot less sad about being separated from his dad. Maybe it was because Kurt rarely got affectionate touches? He didn't know. Blaine took comfort in the embrace, too. While he held Kurt he thought of all the people he might not see again if things didn't go as planned. It wasn't a comfortable thought.

His best friends, Wes and David. Even his parents, although they never exactly, well, fully accepted him, he would still miss their company. For better or worse, they would always be his parents, and he loved them. Even if they rejected the way he wanted to live his life. He held Kurt a little tighter, resting his cheek on the top of Kurt's head.

Although neither of them particularly wanted to break the embrace, they kind of had to. They both both incredibly hungry, as they had absolutely no luck finding the kitchens last night. But, for some reason, when they stepped out of the room in search of the kitchens this time, a wonderful smell was drifting down the corridor. Like cooking food. Huh, Finn's tip actually did help. Who would of thought?

They padded down the hall quickly, almost afraid they would lose the scent. The marble of the floor was cold under their bare feet, as they were still wearing the silky blue pajamas they had found the night before. They tried checking the desk and anywhere else you would think clothes would be stored but to no avail. When they went to put their Lottery Day suits back on they discovered they were gone. Kurt only wished that was the weirdest thing that had happened lately. He didn't even bat an eyelash at their disappearance.

It really was no wonder they had trouble finding the kitchens the night before. When all was said and done they had to climb four sets of stairs, go through a trap bookcase, through fake floorboards covering a trap door, and at least three secret passageways hidden behind banners, or paintings, or even in one case, furniture.

"Seriously what is this place, Hogwarts?" Kurt exclaimed, brushing spiderweb off his arm as they emerged from yet another trap door in the floorboards. Blaine was out of breath, and simply shrugged while checking to make sure he had no spiderwebs stuck on him from the obviously underused passageway. He looked around the room they emerged in and sighed in relief.

"Whatever this place is, at least we found what we were looking for." Kurt sighed happily while taking in the room that could obviously be none other than the kitchens. Workers were hurrying around in the giant white room, everyone having something to do and not enough time to do it. They were all, curiously enough, dressed in different shades of the same silky pajamas Kurt and Blaine were clad in.

Heavy industrial-sized machines hummed and whined, cooking and stirring and washing, all being attended by stressed looking workers. No one seemed to even bat an eyelash at the two obviously out of place individuals emerging from the floor. While Blaine was putting back down the trapdoor Kurt noticed Rachel, Finn, and Quinn sitting at a table in the center of all the hustle and bustle.

Kurt pointed this discovery out to Blaine, and they quickly started walking towards them. They soon discovered they practically had to walk on eggshells around all the workers, who really weren't going to stop for anything, or anyone by the looks of things. Rachel was the first to notice, and she immediately jumped up from her seat.

"TWO MORE CHAIRS!" She yelled, flailing her arms wildly. A loud clang sounded as a worker dropped the metal bowl he was carrying. It's contents, which looked like beaten eggs, splattered all over the floor, but no one paid it any mind. He ran off and was back a moment later, tugging two large, comfy looking chairs to the table. He signaled for Kurt and Blaine to sit, which they did, and ran off again.

Right after they sat, workers came running to laden the table with all sorts of food. In her haste, one worker practically threw a glass of orange juice onto the table, just to get an item on it before it became too crowded. Predictably, the juice went flying all over the table. Even more predictably, nobody seemed to care. Finn even dipped a piece of toast in the juice puddle.

"So," Rachel said, a smile creeping onto her face. Quinn met her gaze for a second and both girls busted into giggles. Kurt noted the extreme difference in feeling between the two since yesterday. "I see you two slept together in the blue bedroom."

"We," Blaine began, but Quinn cut him off.

"Don't worry, most winners end up getting together," she caught Rachel's eye again, and they both went into another giggle fit. Kurt felt himself flush at her words.

"How did you," he began, but Rachel cut him off.

"We can tell you slept together by your pajamas, duhh," she stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She helped herself to what looked like a bowl of bouillabaisse. "Do you see anyone else wearing blue pajamas?" Now that she mentioned it, Kurt didn't. All the workers had different colored pajamas on, some even with crazy designs. The closest Kurt could find was light blue.

"But you three are all wearing the same color, does that mean," Blaine trailed off. Rachel and Quinn giggled and nodded. Kurt hadn't noticed that, either. Rachel, Quinn, and Finn were all wearing the same shade of powder pink pajamas. Finn wasn't paying any mind to the conversation, he was simply shoving food in his face as if he had been next to death with starvation.

Kurt rolled his eyes and helped himself to what was hopefully an omelet. He took a bite and immediately grimaced, spitting the disgusting thing out, back onto his plate.

"Ugh, what's in that?" He asked in disgust. Rachel leaned over the table to examine his plate.

"Grape jelly." Of fucking course.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.** Hey guys! Thank you so much for your reviews :'D This must be what it feels like to be famous~

Anyways this chappie is 100% dedicated to **Run Korrigan Run**, WHO. IS. MY. _JEWISH. BUDDY_. You should totally read the story "Ain't it funny" by my lovely Jewish friend. Then review it. Then favorite it. Then print it out and save copies in your scrap books for your great grandchildren. :3

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><p>It had taken awhile, but eventually Kurt and Blaine had found something at least semi-suitable to eat. Kurt had found coffee that tasted faintly like apples and peanut butter. Yeah, he didn't know either. He was ashamed to admit it, but it really wasn't that bad. He had picked a plate of french toast clean, after having to assure many pajama-clad workers that no, he did not want any mustard, thank you for offering.<p>

Blaine found this odd juice that really wasn't that bad. Upon inquiring what it was, he learned it was called Apple Cubed. Made from the juice of three different apples. Clever. After much sifting he was able to find just regular scrambled eggs, nothing unusual added. He made sure to swallow them down before one of the workers decided to add something disgusting to them.

"When are we suppose to leave?" Blaine asked Quinn. He really did like her, she seemed like the most level-headed person around. Rachel and Kurt were loudly discussing the castle's decor. Apparently Rachel was the main conspirator behind the interior design. Quinn seemed to think for a moment.

"Well, normally the winners depart two days from Lottery Day. It's mainly just in case something happens to the trains and they have to get here by other, slower means. Although sometimes," she lowered her voice, and Blaine leaned in more to hear her better. "There's been a few times when.. When the winners go a little crazy from the shock of winning and need to recover." Her lips curled into a smile and Blaine couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Do we do anything until then?" Blaine asked.

"Not anything in particular, we'll have someone educate you further. There's a lot of blank spaces in history but we'll teach you what we know. But that's no fun, we'll wait until later for that." Quinn smiled, and Blaine couldn't help but disagree. If he had to do something he wanted to do it to the best of his ability. He honestly wished he had had some sort of head start on all of this. He would of learnt all there was to learn about the different lands and rulers.

"Wouldn't it be better to spend all the time we have preparing?" Quinn grimaced.

"That doesn't sound like fun," Finn commented. "We should play a game." He added, almost as an afterthought. Rachel immediately stopped bickering with Kurt.

"Ooooh that sounds like fun," Her eyes lit up as she spoke. "Oooh, can we play-"

"Not Monopoly." Quinn cut her off. Rachel glared at her.

"That's not even what I was going to say."

"Yes it was," Finn stated, looking bored. "You know how you get about Monopoly, dude." Quinn nodded in agreement.

"Why, does she get mad and flip the board?" Kurt asked, smiling at the thought.

"Dude, try she flipped the table," Finn said with a shudder. Rachel looked incredibly offended by this.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I TRIPPED," She yelled, slamming her hands on the table. She glared hard at Finn. "Why are you always agreeing with her! It's always her with you, isn't it?" Finn stared at his hands, as if trying to ignore Rachel away. Kurt, remembering how lost he and Blaine got last night after they all broke off after a fight thought fast.

"We could play hide and seek," he suggested hopefully. Because really, when you're in a giant castle what else would you want to play?

"That's a good idea," Blaine began, but immediately stopped talking upon seeing the look on Finn's face. Finn looked terrified.

"Definitely not," Quinn said quickly, putting a comforting arm around Finn. Rachel apparently forgot she was mad at him, and rubbed his arm comfortingly. Quinn obviously saw the confusion playing across Kurt and Blaine's faces. "Uh, we tried playing that before.. And, uh," she eyed Finn uncomfortably.

"Dear god, I was lost for days," Finn said quickly. He looked up at Blaine, his eyes wide. "I almost died." Was this guy serious? Really?

"But how didn't you two," Kurt began. It was totally understandable Finn got lost, Kurt imagined that happened all the time. But for days? Judging by the sheer number of workers in the kitchens alone, you would think if they really wanted to find someone, they could.

"We don't even know," Rachel answered. "Honestly we had the castle torn apart ten times over while he was gone. It was like he just vanished."

_Or he is simply the greatest hide and seek player in the world_, Kurt thought. Judging by the legitimately horrified expression on Finn's face as he remembered his days of solitude the comment probably wouldn't of been very appreciated. That's when it struck him.

"Oh my god my pores must look horrible," Kurt panicked. He brought a hand up to his face, feeling his smooth skin. He missed his moisturizing routine last night _and_ this morning. Finn regarded him.

"They look fine to me," he began, but Kurt waved him off.

"Is there a shower anywhere here?" Kurt asked urgently. Blaine didn't understand why Kurt was so concerned, Kurt looked fine to him.

"There's a few bathrooms on every floor," Rachel said. "You'll have to look for them." Kurt nodded and sat up, turning to leave. Blaine stood to follow. Right upon their standing, workers swarmed to the table, cleaning off all the plates on Kurt and Blaine's side. As they walked away they heard several of the plates shatter on the ground.

"I can't believe I forgot all about my routine," Kurt droned on. "Oh god, why are there no mirrors in this whole freaking castle? I probably look terrible, and my hair, _Oh god my hair_."

"I think you look nice," Blaine voiced up, and Kurt slammed the door to yet another wrong room. Kurt stopped rambling, a flush creeping up to his cheeks.

"Well, thank you," Kurt said quickly, checking another door. It looked like a giant library. He refused to meet Blaine's gaze as he checked a few more doors.

"Hey, I'm serious, Kurt," Kurt reluctantly looked at him at the mention of his name. His normally pale face was bright red in the most adorable way. "I think you're really pretty!" Because really, he did. Kurt made an odd noise, like whatever he was going to say got stuck in his throat. Blaine smiled, proud of making Kurt feel speechless.

Kurt didn't say anything, he simply smiled and tried another door. Ah, bingo. Maybe. Kurt took a step into the room, totally forgetting to be smitten. The room was so big Kurt literally couldn't see the wall opposite the door. Instead of showers or even a tub or anything you would want to find in a bathroom there was simply the biggest underground tub probably in the world.

The marble floor ended at the door frame, switching to blue tiles. The whole room smelled amazing, like every bath scent you could think mixed together to create the mountains of bubbles in the tub. The sound of rushing water filled the air, and Kurt was shocked to see the pool's filter device. Water rained down in a constant stream from the ceiling, hitting the exact center of the water. Kurt wasn't sure, but over all the noise the filter made he was pretty sure he heard the occasional laugh or bit of conversation. It was impossible to see the other side of the pool, with all the bubbles, so he just assumed there were others in there currently out of sight. Blaine whistled.

"This was unexpected," he commented, closing the door behind him and Kurt.

"It's... much nicer than I expected," Kurt answered honestly. Kurt noticed next to the door there was a closet. Opening it, he honestly could not of been happier. There were shelves and shelves of beauty product. He really didn't know where to start. Blaine plucked a simple bar of soap off a shelf, and turned to walk away when Kurt stopped him. "If we're going to be together for awhile, I must intervene."

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked, confused. Kurt stared at him seriously.

"Blaine, I'm going to be totally frank with you. You have oily skin." Before Blaine knew it he was submerged in the comfortably lukewarm waters with Kurt, diligently rubbing some sort of body wash into every bit of his skin. He had stopped asking questions after Kurt gave him a lengthy explanation of just why it was _so_ important for him to incorporate rosemary into his skincare regimen.

Kurt really thought he should feel at least a little embarrassed. Here he was, totally naked besides a thin layer of foam, sitting next to the boy who he kind of sort of liked. Ha, as if. Who was he kidding? Kurt had fallen for him. Hard. But, well, Blaine just had a way of making totally uncomfortable situations really bearable. Kurt was starting to love that about him. Okay, he was starting to love everything.

But Kurt Hummel had a plan. He had only known this man for about a day, and he really didn't want to ruin things. Before, every time he had a crush he would immediately throw himself at the guy. This time he was going to play hard to get. Extremely hard to get. He had promised himself that he wouldn't show any sign of interest until Blaine was absolutely drooling over him.

Give or take ten minutes later found Kurt giggling wildly, his head thrown back, his face flushed. Blaine was smiling widely, laughing at Kurt's reaction to what Blaine had promised was 'like the best foot rub ever'. Blaine took a moment to admire how the flush spread down Kurt's front. Blaine shamelessly admired right down to where the water level rested, at the top of Kurt's waist.

"I had no idea you were so ticklish," Blaine commented, tickling at the heel of Kurt's foot. Kurt immediately started thrashing about, splashing the water everywhere in an effort to contain his laughter.

"I'm," Kurt started laughing again. "I'm usually not! It's just so funny! Oh god, please!" Blaine sighed in defeat before relenting his tickle attack, instead giving Kurt's foot long, firm strokes with both thumbs. Kurt sighed in appreciation, resting his head back down. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something pretty intimate about the touch. Not just that they were both naked or anything, but Kurt just felt really close to Blaine right now, on more than a physical level. It was nice. Really nice.

Sure he had totally blown his big idea for being a total prude, but, hey, fuck you. Blaine offered. Kurt almost even declined, a little, well, almost, the thought of declining was practically there. Hey, at least he hadn't totally thrown himself at Blaine. Kind of.

Blaine had pretty much worked Kurt down to a dribbling gob of goo when there was a loud splash next to him. Kurt sat up in alarm, his body flush against Blaine's, nervously looking over Blaine's shoulder. Blaine looked only to see a floating black ball. Guess there was other people in the pool.

"Don't worry ladies, I'll get it!" A male voice called from the other side of the pool. There was another loud splashing sound, and Blaine couldn't believe his eyes. Someone had jumped over the water, as if diving out of it, flying above even the highest mountain of foam. Only his legs weren't right, they were, they were.. Oh god they were just a singular fish tail. Blaine couldn't believe it.

The man spotted the ball floating next to them while in the air, and fell back into the water with another loud splash. Kurt was now positively clinging onto Blaine for dear life. His nails were piercing into Blaine's back, his body, warm from the water was flush against Blaine's. Blaine bit his lip, trying to will himself not to harden. He knew it wasn't intentional but when Kurt jumped on him their groins rubbed together, slick with water.

The water was uneven as whoever the... mermaid (merman?) propelled through the water. There was a slight splash of foam and water when he stopped abruptly next to Kurt and Blaine. It was just then Blaine noticed he was swimming with his arms. Shouldn't he be, you know, flopping that fish tail around a little? He stuck his head out from the water. Blaine noticed his blue eyes were just about the most piercing Blaine had ever seen, even when obscured by a pair of thick-rimmed, black, rectangular glasses.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said calmly, eyeing Kurt and Blaine's positioning. Immediately Kurt let go of Blaine, taking a step back. But not too far back, Blaine noticed. The strange man slicked back his dark brown hair before pointing to the black ball. "That mine?" He asked, as if there was any possibility it wasn't.

"Uh, yeah," Blaine said, shifting on his feet awkwardly.

"What's wrong with your legs?" Kurt blurted out before he could help it. The man surveyed him heavily for a second before a realization struck him.

"Ohh right, right. It was just Lottery Day, you're the winners?" Kurt and Blaine nodded. The man smiled. "This might come as kind of a shock to you, but," he flipped backwards in the water, sticking out his tail. It kind of looked like his two legs had fused together completely, and coated themselves in scales to slide through the water easier. The tinge of the tail was the same bright, steely shade of the man's eyes, somehow.

Instead of twitching around crazily as Kurt would of expected it hung limply, floating in the top of the water. Despite it being really... weird, it wasn't as disgusting as you would think. Honest. The tail ended a few inches below the man's belly button, where it fused seamlessly to his skin. He flipped back over, shoving his tail back under with his hands.

"Can you not," Blaine began, remembering how he had padded his way over with his arms.

"Well, no, it's paralyzed. But of course most can," he said casually.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Blaine said, because he thought it needed to be said. The man waved him off.

"It's not your fault," he said casually. "So, anyways, winners, congrats!" he said. He extended a hand to Blaine, as Kurt was still cowering behind him.

"Blaine Anderson," Blaine said, shaking his hand. It was so soft, probably from all that water.

"Aaaaaaaaaaartie!" A playful female voice called out from the other side of the pool.

"Artie Abrams," Artie said, giving Blaine's hand a shake. And with that he grabbed the black ball and dived under the water, swimming off.

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><p>Mermaid Artie belongs to Alii. They are lovers. ;o~<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.** Hey guys! Thanks for all your really nice reviews. Each one makes me smile and flail a little. Just wanted to add that :3 Okay, without further ado, _PLOT AWAY!~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

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><p>Finn clapped his hands together excitedly and pointed to a painting on the wall. Blaine and Kurt turned their heads slightly to the left, studying it intently. Finn looked at them apprehensively, nervously wringing his hands. Blaine and Kurt looked to each other, silently coming to an agreement.<p>

"You're crazy," Kurt and Blaine said together, turning to a crestfallen Finn. Finn looked from the painting to the two boys, then back again.

"No, dude, no, you're just not using it right," Finn began rambling. Kurt stopped him with a raised hand.

"Well please, oh master of the painting," Kurt waved his hand in the direction of the painting, an unamused look on his face. "Oh please, show us mere mortals your ways."

"You don't have to be sarcastic about it," Finn pouted. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Sarcastic? Me?" Blaine faked surprise.

"Even the accusation is absurd," he exclaimed, looking to Kurt, who was nodding vigorously. "I think you owe Kurt an apology, dude. That wasn't cool."

"I'm borderline offended, even," Kurt began when Finn looked at him, the regret apparent on his face.

"I'm sorry dude," Finn began, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's just my girls are always messing with me like that," Finn rambled on while Blaine and Kurt shared another look. For some reason, after their bath together earlier they were feeling a lot tighter with each other. Something about having everything about your childhood disproved before your eyes in the course of five minutes did that. Oh, yeah, they still hadn't asked Finn what was up with that guy.

"It's fine, I accept your apology," Kurt said, smiling. Finn smiled back, relieved.

"That's good dude, I was afraid I said something stupid." Blaine scoffed.

"You've never said anything stupid," Blaine began, and Kurt fought to contain his giggles. He had a serious question to ask.

"So, uh, Finn," Kurt began awkwardly. How exactly should he phrase this? "While Blaine and I were in that room, with the giant in-ground bathtub?" Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I know which one you're talking about," Finn began, obviously not sure of where this was going.

"You're going to think I'm crazy, but, there was a mermaid in there." Finn nodded, still wondering where this was going.

"Well?" Finn asked, waiting to hear what the big problem was.

"There was a mermaid, in your bathpool thing," Blaine tried to clarify for Finn.

"Well of course," Finn finally said, confused.

"What was he doing in there?" Kurt asked.

"Uh, the same thing you were," Finn said, when he noticed the confusion splayed across Kurt and Blaine's faces. "Y'know, taking a bath," Finn tried to clarify.

"Well, of course," Kurt said, laughing humorlessly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's alright man, it happens to the best of us," Finn said, turning back to the picture. "So, I'm not sure, maybe I kind of like did something like this?" Finn stated, while jerking his hands around the top of the giant frame. The picture was a blurry painting of a young boy in overalls and a blue and white striped long-sleeved shirt. He was looking from the beach out into the stormy seas, holding a single red balloon. It was a pretty picture, sure, but so were all the other pictures adorning the walls.

For some reason Finn was convinced that this picture was the reason he got lost for days. Or, as he put it, 'lost at the picture'. Quinn and Rachel, who were still unsure as to how Finn totally disappeared, figured he had just taken a wrong turn down a passageway no one else knew about. For some reason Blaine and Kurt had offered to help Finn figure out why he got lost there.

"I'm actually pretty sure Quinn and Rachel were right," Blaine tried to tell Finn gently. Finn stopped his assault on the painting and looked at Blaine, his eyes full of hurt.

"Nobody believes me," he began, and Kurt couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. "I thought you two could help me figure it out before you left but I guess not." Oh god, he was trying to guilt them. Maybe not, Kurt wasn't sure if Finn was smart enough to do the guilting tactic. Whether he meant to do it or not, it was working. Kurt could feel himself slowly slipping in, and judging by the look on Blaine's face, he was feeling the same.

"Here, why don't you tell us what happened again? Maybe now that we're here we'll have more luck," Blaine said slowly. Finn's sadness was gone, and he started nodding eagerly.

"So I was just running down the hallway, right? And I passed the painting, and I stopped to look at it because I had never seen it really I remember. Anyways I don't really remember what happened after that but it was something weird, I bet. Anyways next thing I knew, I was wandering down all these abandoned corridors for days. Seriously. Every room was empty. Lucky for me I found a bathroom," Kurt blushed and looked away, feeling awkward. Finn didn't seem to notice. "So then one day after wandering I was pretty sure I was about to die. Then I turned a corner and was here at the painting again."

"Well, I don't know how to tell you this but," Kurt began, trying to steel himself for Finn's heartbreak. "By the sounds of things you turned down an unused corridor to an abandoned wing of the castle." Finn got an unreadable expression on his face, obviously thinking hard.

"I guess that's possible," Finn began sadly.

"Don't you have unused portions of the castle?" Blaine asked, hoping to make Kurt's theory more believable to Finn.

"Well, yes," Finn said. Kurt clapped his hands together, obviously ready to drop the whole subject.

"Well, there you have it. That's all it was, you know? Not everything has to be caused by some crazy paranormal occurrence." Finn looked crestfallen, but Kurt thought he would accept the theory.

"If only you knew," Finn mumbled, before trudging downstairs sadly.

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><p>Kurt and Blaine were casually strolling down the corridors of the castle, looking for a library of some sort. They really needed to start reading up on, well, everything. They didn't say anything to each other, but both were happy on having competent partners. Maybe it was just being locked up in the castle for two days, but the world was seeming more and more crazy.<p>

Blaine opened a door, and peeked his head in. The whole room was decked out in a boardwalk, sailorish theme. Everything was faded blue and white, little figurines of sailboats and lighthouses on the desks. Instead of a bed there was just what looked like a small rowboat. Only it was covered in blankets and pillows. There was a little Loch Ness stuffed animal on the bed.

Blaine didn't even bat an eyelash at the outrageous decor, and simply shut the door behind him. Absolutely nothing could surprise him anymore, he would bet. He heard Kurt shriek from across the hall, and hurried over.

Blaine saw the hundreds, maybe thousands of books lining all the walls in the room he could see through the opened door. Blaine jumped happily, grabbing Kurt's soft hand and tugging him along into the room. They had been searching about half an hour now, and Blaine was almost ready to give up.

A good twenty minutes later found Kurt and Blaine lounging casually in comfortable armchairs by a crackling fire. They were both surrounded by piles and piles of books that looked like they had something that might help them on their quest. The boys would occasionally voice up a fact or figure they found moderately interesting or helpful.

"Yeah, it says right here that goblins are always running around doing their bitch work," Kurt was casually paraphrasing when there was a loud thump on the oak wood of the door. He stopped talking immediately, turning around to look at the door, Blaine doing the same. There were muffled noises coming from the other side, and Kurt couldn't help but be afraid.

The knob of the door jiggled as someone fought hard to open it. Finally, it turned, and the door flew open, banging loudly against the wall. Finn stumbled slightly as he tried to back in, Quinn clinging to him with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. His shirt was half unbuttoned, showing his pale and slightly chubby chest and stomach.

Rachel had pulled Finn's face to the side, and was assaulting his lips with hers, her bright red lipstick smeared all over his mouth. Quinn leaned in, and started licking and biting at the flesh at the crook of Finn's neck. Finn backed to a vacant table directly across from the door, and laid on his back. Quinn started giggling, straddling his hips and grinding her pelvis down into his.

Finn started flailing around when Rachel practically tackled Quinn to the floor, ripping at Quinn's fancy peach gown, biting at her chest. Quinn started letting out high-pitched moans, and Finn jumped down from the table to join them. That's when Finn noticed Kurt and Blaine, who were watching the scene awkwardly from across the room.

"Oh, hey dudes," Finn said casually, and waved to them. Kurt and Blaine gave each other a confused look before waving back to Finn. Finn started undoing his black pants, dropping them down to his ankles unceremoniously. Rachel growled. No, really. That bitch fucking growled. Kurt was positive that's what he heard. Practically lunging up from Quinn, she grabbed hold of Finn's boxers, ripping them off. Kurt felt himself flush in embarrassment as Finn's cock sprang free, and he really couldn't watch this anymore.

"Uh, guys?" Kurt asked awkwardly, his voice high pitched.

"Yes?" Rachel asked, her voice slightly muffled as she was happily lapping at Finn's cock. Quinn crawled over to join her, and _ohmygod. _They had to leave, like, now.

"I think we'll leave," Blaine said quickly, his voice crackling slightly. He took Kurt's hand and they made a beeline for the door. Kurt averted his eyes from the trio, feeling incredibly embarrassed for them. They quickly slammed the door behind them, and Kurt couldn't help but laugh at how disheveled Blaine looked.

"What the fuck was that?" Kurt finally asked, trying to will the swelling in his pants away. Blaine shook his head.

"I don't even know," he stated, sounding confused. Sure Finn, Rachel, and Quinn were weird and open but this was just a whole new level. "It's like they don't even know the term boundaries."

"I know," Kurt agreed. "I just wish I could have a cold shower," he stated afterwards, almost as an afterthought. Blaine's eyes immediately went to the unmistakable bulge in Kurt's pants, and his flush deepened.

"Ditto," Blaine said, feeling his own erection grow at the thought of Kurt having one. Just then, the door opened again. Kurt could hear Rachel and Quinn giggling from within the room and knew this was nothing good.

"Guys, I still think this is pretty mean," Finn called back into the room, and Kurt kept his eyes trained on the floor, not even wanting to know.

"Just do it!" Rachel and Quinn's voice called in unison, then more giggles. Kurt heard Blaine gasp, and couldn't help but look up himself. Goddammit.

Finn was standing in the doorway, buck naked. Hanging on his _very _erect cock was a thin black necklace, a large pink crystal attached to the bottom of it. The crystal swayed slightly from side to side and the whole sight was just so embarrassing Kurt couldn't look without cringing. Finn took in a deep breath.

"So, Rachel and Quinn saw you were trying to read up for your task. Apparently you misunderstood, you see, we were getting you a tutor." Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"How are we suppose to learn everything in the matter of a few hours? Aren't we suppose to leave tonight?" Finn sighed.

"Dude, this is your tutor," he stated, pointing to his crotch. Rachel and Quinn screeched with laughter from within the room.

"Oh my god," Kurt groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"The necklace or your dick?" Blaine asked matter-of-factly. Kurt just wanted to curl up and die.

"Either one you want, baby!" Rachel screeched from the room, and Quinn laughed in such a high-pitched tone it sounded like she was dying.

"The crystal," Finn said simply, still showing no signs of shame at being fully exposed. "It holds all the information not only of those books, but of, like, more." He finished sort of lamely. "Basically it'll be a huge help. Only one of you has to grab it from my dick. I'm sorry, it was Rachel's idea."

"Dude. I'm gay, but I'm not that gay," Blaine stated. Kurt couldn't help but feel his ears perk up at this new information. However, now really wasn't the time to get excited.

"MAKE KURT DO IT! MAKE KURT DO IT!" The girls chanted/yelled from the room. Finn turned to Kurt.

"Sorry dude, looks like you need to grab it." Kurt looked in concern up to Blaine, then Finn, then to the room were the girls were literally rolling on the floor with laughter.

"But, I-" Kurt began, trying to think of a good excuse. "Do we really need it?" Kurt asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, yeah. Unless you want to carry all those maps and books and stuff. It'll also transport you to the spot where you should start. I don't know maybe you could take a boat or something but it would take forever." Of course. Kurt whimpered, still trying to think of a way to get out of doing this.

"Don't worry, Kurt," Blaine tried to comfort. But, honestly. How do you comfort a guy who's about to pull a necklace off of another guy's dick? Kurt whimpered again. "Just shut your eyes, and do it really quick. It'll be like pulling off a band-aid." Kurt nodded slowly, shutting his eyes as tight as he could.

Kurt covered his shut eyes with his free hand, and reached out with his other.

"You're too low," Blaine said, trying to help Kurt. Kurt moved his hand up too fast, and shrieked when his hand brushed Finn's cock. Okay, telling Kurt to close his eyes was probably a bad idea. Kurt brought his hand back to his chest, clutching it protectively, as if he were burned. Blaine felt so bad for him that he reached over and pulled the necklace off of Finn's cock unceremoniously.

"Aww, you guys are no fun," Finn exclaimed sadly.

"Did you get it?" Kurt opened his eyes slowly, and jumped up happily when he saw Blaine holding the necklace at a distance. "Oh, thank you Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed, pulling Blaine into a hug.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Quinn asked Rachel.

"Way too cute," Rachel said, pulling Quinn in for a kiss. "Finn! Come on, let's finish up in here!" Rachel called. Finn smiled and waved goodbye to Kurt and Blaine.

"Later dudes," he said, turning to walk back into the library.

"Oh, yeah!" Rachel called. "Put on that necklace! Let's see how it looks on you two!" Kurt took a step back from Blaine, who held up the necklace. Somehow the black chain was much longer, long enough for both of them to fit under it anyways. Blaine wrapped his free arm around Kurt's waist, pulling him closer. He put the chain around their necks, and Kurt didn't even have time to wince at how gross it was.

Kurt blinked, and there him and Blaine were, standing in the middle of a clearing.

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><p>Hahahah I'm sorry I couldn't help it. I wanted Finn, Rachel, and Quinn to leave with a bang.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.** Sorry for the long wait, guys. I'm really wrapped up with this original fiction I've been writing. It's suppose to be novel length, and I'm juuuuuust over half finished with it -sigh- So much more left to do though. This still remains my favorite story I'm working on :3  
>As always reviews are welcomed and encouraged. Also, I'm so sorry but I couldn't help but pump Artie full of as much swag as possible. Because seriously, he's Artie. The original Mr. Bitches. Okay I'm done with this note, please enjoy :3333333<p>

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><p>"Son of a bitch," Kurt mumbled looking around the clearing. Blaine blinked a few times, watching a brown leaf slowly fall from a large tree.<p>

"Did that really just happen?" Blaine finally said, loosening his grip on Kurt. Kurt shook his head.

"I really can't stand them." He stated simply. Blaine couldn't help but agree. He had never seen so much green before. The grass was soft and thin and more shades of green than he had ever seen in his life. He couldn't believe it. Some of the leaves on all the trees were deep purple and green and red and orange and it all just made his eyes burn slightly.

He looked to Kurt, who's beautiful blue eyes were watering. The sun seemed so much different here. Looking up, it wasn't the pastel yellow that he was so used to. It was actually more of a white. The sky wasn't just one solid shade of blue. Multiple different shades danced around to create the unnatural shade glaring down. Or maybe it was natural. Maybe it was the most natural thing he had ever seen.

"Why does it look like that?" Kurt ground out, fighting to keep his vision at the sky. Blaine shrugged.

"Maybe it's suppose to look like that." Kurt had no idea what he had been missing. He had no idea so many colors could exist. The only thing that could compare to this was all the colors in the castle, yet they weren't nearly as vivid. Everything had always been so solid. Would this wear off? Was it some odd side effect from the necklace?

Kurt shrugged off all his confusion and took a few wary steps. He felt dizzy, but that too was probably a side effect. Blaine stood still for a moment, not wanting to leave his spot. He felt like the scenery that laid a few yards away would disappear if he moved. When Kurt started walking away he had no choice but to follow. He definitely didn't want to be left alone here.

Blaine jogged up to Kurt, who had reached the border of the trees in record time. He slipped his hand in Kurt's, not wanting to lose him in the trees. Kurt looked up to him for just a second, his eyes strangely vacant. Blaine didn't notice his however.

"Wow," Blaine mumbled. He had just now realized how beautiful Kurt's eyes were. It was like they couldn't decide whether they wanted to be blue or green. He had never seen anything like it. "You have really pretty eyes," he said with a small, almost cocky grin. It was a real blow to his ego when Kurt didn't reply.

Kurt's hand was loose in his, easily slipping out when Kurt turned to walk deeper in the trees. To say Blaine found this behavior disturbing would be an understatement. Blaine couldn't lose Kurt, not in this weird place. He scrambled to catch up with Kurt. Sadly, since Kurt's legs were longer, he was walking much quicker than Blaine found comfortable.

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine said, gripping Kurt's shoulder. Kurt didn't even react, he just kept wandering deeper into the trees. The grass got longer, weed and brush snagging on the bottom of Blaine's pants. The trees were getting thicker and closer together, and Blaine was getting really nervous. He couldn't let Kurt leave him, something was seriously wrong.

He caught up to Kurt again, slipping his arm to interlock with Kurt's. Kurt, of course, didn't notice, but at least Blaine had a little control over him now. Kurt might be taller, but Blaine was stronger. Slipping the necklace out from his shirt with his other hand, Blaine tried to figure out how to work the stupid thing.

After not too long of travelling, Blaine was silently cursing and violently shaking the gem on the black chain, desperate for it to work. A small line of blood was running down from his cheek, where he had been smacked in the face by a branch Kurt led them into. He was so caught up with trying to put the brakes on Kurt and get the necklace to work he almost didn't notice the trees thinning.

The sound of cool water running over rocks filled his ears, and he looked up to see a stream in the upcoming clearing. It almost looked like a person was reclining in the water. Finally, if only he could just drag Kurt over to them, they could help him. He went to give Kurt a sharp tug in the lake's direction, not caring much for the boy's comfort as much as for his safety when Kurt turned of his own accord. Kurt was heading towards the lake. Well, that was a plus, wasn't it?

Blaine could do nothing but trot to keep up with Kurt, their arms still interlocked as Kurt dragged him towards the lake. It was becoming clearer now. The person in the lake was most definitely a woman, with tanned skin. Her long, black hair shimmered in the sun as she leaned over the side of the lake. When they got even closer, Blaine saw her lips moving but heard no sound.

Kurt finally stopped at the edge of the lake. The woman was definitely Asian, and very very pretty. She flashed them a brilliant smile, Kurt returning it somewhat sheepishly. He looked so far away, and that fact scared Blaine so much. There was a little splash, and Blaine looked into the water. _Oh.._

In the shimmering, clear water there floated a black fish tail. A mermaid tail. Blaine had only ever saw one once, but it didn't look anything like this woman's. The black in her's was swirled with purple and deep blue. When she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, he saw a lock the same blue shade become visible.

"H-Hello," Blaine said awkwardly, unsure of why the woman (merwoman?) hadn't said a thing yet. She just kept her eyes trained on Kurt's with that smile, her lips silently moving. "Hello?" Blaine asked again, with a little more force this time. She blinked a few times before looking at him in confusion, as if she hadn't noticed he was there at all.

"H-H-Hi," She said with a thick stutter. Her voice was soft and sweet, and Blaine couldn't help but smile at her in his confusion. Kurt blinked a few times before looking around nervously. When his eye's met Blaine's he took a step forward, closing the distance between them, pulling him into an embrace. Blaine patted Kurt's back a few times, still incredible confused. Kurt was shaking like crazy, and if the wetness spreading across Blaine's shoulder was any indication, crying.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Blaine asked nervously, rubbing circles on Kurt's back.

"I-I-I," Kurt began before his voice failed him. His legs gave out, and he would of dropped to the ground if not for Blaine's firm grip on him. Blaine looked quickly to the lady in the water.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked quickly, his voice unnaturally high. Quite frankly he was terrified. Something was wrong with Kurt and there was nothing he could do about it, and he hated that feeling. The woman stared at him, still looking shocked that Blaine was even there. "Please?" Blaine asked when his previous question warranted no response.

The woman simply made an odd gurgling noise in the back of her throat, looking at Blaine as if it were suppose to make sense. Blaine thought back hard. What was that mermaid's name? Artie Abrams, right? It was a long shot, but if this mermaid knew him, maybe she could bring Blaine to him and get help.

"Do you know Artie Abrams?" Blaine asked nervously, as Kurt finally fell to the ground. His face fell in his hands, and he was sobbing anew. A look of realization crossed the merwoman's face before she started nodding vigorously. Okay, so, she didn't know English well, but she knew Artie. This was a start. "Can you bring us to him?" Blaine asked her. She looked confused again, and Blaine was afraid she wouldn't understand before she nodded.

"O-o-ok...okay," she said before turning her head and screaming over her shoulder. "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTIEEEEE!" She screeched, reaching such a pitch that made the hairs on the back of Blaine's neck stand up. Blaine dropped to his knees, trying to comfort a still sobbing Kurt. Before long there was a light splashing and a loud giggling filled the air. Blaine looked up.

Artie was swimming over, an arm thrown over two extremely beautiful merwomen who were laughing like crazy at something he had said. Blaine didn't notice because the only merwoman he had ever seen was leaning over the side of the lake, but the two swimming with Artie were completely topless. Did they just not wear clothes? Ariel at least had the decency to wear seashells, why couldn't they?

"What's wrong, Tina?" Artie asked, which confused Blaine ever further. Why was he speaking normally? Could 'Tina' understand him the entire time.

"T-Them," she said, pointing at Kurt and Blaine with a shaking hand. Blaine couldn't help but notice her fingers were webbed, the nails painted a black color with god-knows-what. Artie's eyes widened when he saw Kurt and Blaine.

"My two main men! Great to see you!" He called with a small wave. The merwomen on either side of him started eyeing the boys with great interest, making their new found attraction obvious.

"Something's wrong with Kurt!" Blaine blurted out, and Artie's face scrunched up in concern.

"Really?" Artie asked, swimming a little closer to get a better look. Blaine looked at him skeptically.

"Are you serious, Artie? Look at him, he's terrified!" Artie shrugged.

"That's pretty much what he was doing last time I saw him." Artie stated before looking to Tina. "Tina, were you calling to them?" Tina nodded.

"I-I thought there was only one. Then he," Tina pointed to Blaine. "Came out of nowhere, it was horrible. Who is he, I don't understand why it didn't get him t-too?" Artie shook his head.

"Tina, they're the winners. Kurt must of not been wearing the necklace," Artie looked to Blaine. "The necklace should protect you two from things like mermaid's song." Artie eyed the necklace still hanging from Blaine's neck. "You were wearing it, so it didn't effect you. You two need to be more careful." Blaine shook his head.

"No one told us any of that. I don't even understand, why was she, uh, calling to him?" Artie stared at him, confused.

"Well she wanted to eat him, of course."

"Oh," was Blaine's smart reply. Kurt's crying seemed to let up slightly, and Blaine looked back to him nervously. "Why's he like this if she stopped?" Artie shook his head a little.

"Well, Blaine, it's a little traumatizing to be called like that. Your body starts shutting down. You accept that you're about to die. He's scared because he just regained consciousness, and realized that he almost died. It's scary," Artie finished, somewhat lamely. "What?" Artie asked, upon noticing how Blaine was staring at him. Blaine was looking at him as if he were a monster.

"What? Seriously? Why would you people do that to anyone?" Artie stared at him for a few seconds, not sure if he were being serious.

"Well, dude, you gotta eat," Artie tried to explain. Blaine shook his head, trying to understand.

"That's like... Half cannibalism.." Blaine began, letting his voice trail off. Kurt stopped the majority of his sobs, just huffing every now and then, shaking in Blaine's arms.

"You just think that because you've been sheltered. Welcome to the real world," Artie said, motioning around with his hands. "Tina, why don't you try to find Mike? I think he snagged something earlier and would be glad to share." Tina nodded before swimming off with a few flicks of her tail. Artie whistled as she left. "That girl has one nice posterior."

"Huh?" Blaine asked, looking from the two girls on either side of Artie to Tina, swimming away. Exactly what part was her posterior.

"Sorry, exgirlfriend," Artie clarified. "Anyways, I have the feeling you two aren't going to get very far without some help."

"I-I," Blaine began, trying to explain how this was just a fluke, how they didn't need any help. Artie silenced him with a wave.

"I don't want to hear that. Ten minutes here and you two almost get eaten." Blaine had to admit, Artie had a point. He heard Kurt sniffle a little, perfectly melted into his arms when he decided he needed to swallow his pride. He wouldn't put Kurt right into the line of fire like that again. They had to protect each other, and Blaine would be doing a pretty crummy job if he denied help.

"Could you help us?" Blaine asked quietly, rubbing at Kurt's back again. His touch seemed to be helping the boy, which made him glad. Artie's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

"Anything for a friend of Finn's. I can help you two get around, but only to an extent." The girls on either side of him let out loud noises of disappointment.

"Aaaaartieee!," one of them cried. She threw her arms around his neck, and Blaine flushed in embarrassment for her. She showed no shame, but her long, brown hair moved away and her breasts were fully exposed at the action.

"Please don't leave usss!" The other said, pressing desperate kisses to Artie's neck.

"Ladies, please," Artie said, slipping out of the girl's grasp. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." The girls moaned loudly in disappointment, sounding absolutely wanton. The sight made Blaine scoff. This was completely ridiculous.

"B-Blaine?" Kurt asked, looking up from Blaine's shoulder, where he was currently buried. Blaine's eyes softened at the sight.

"Yes, Kurt?" Blaine resumed the rubbing of Kurt's back, which he had stopped during his talk with Artie.

"What's happening?" Kurt asked, his voice barely a whisper. It yanked at Blaine's heartstrings.

"Artie's gonna help us find our way around," Blaine replied. Kurt nodded slowly, wiping some wetness away from his face.

"I-I'm sorry for all of this," Kurt said, his voice barely audible over the ladies' screams of protest at Artie leaving them. Blaine shook his head, moving to get a better hold on Kurt.

"Kurt, don't say that. Here," Blaine took the necklace off of him, wrapping it around both his and Kurt's necks. There was enough slack in the chain for them to get a good distance from each other. Blaine couldn't help but wonder how the necklace kept doing that. "Now we're both safe." Kurt's eyes welled up with tears at the kind motion.

Closing the distance between them, Kurt pressed a small peck to Blaine's cheek. Blaine's skin was warm and slightly wet with Kurt's own tears. The heat seemed to increase tenfold in the few seconds Kurt's lips were connected. Kurt moved back a little cautiously, smiling at the sight of Blaine's blushing skin.

"That's sugary sweet and all," Artie said, unceremoniously shoving a particularly clingy girl from his side. She swam right back up and started adoring his face and neck with kisses. "But we really need to get this adventure trail rolling. We're not going to get any closer to the Light Lands by sitting here."

"Artie! Please!" One of his ever present girls stated, tears leaking freely from her eyes. "I love you!"

"Artie loves you too, baby," Artie stated, swimming away from the girls. He swam away, keeping close to the edge of the lake. "You coming, lover boys?"

Blaine and Kurt shared a look before standing and following Artie down the seemingly endless expanse of lake.


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.** -eyes bleeding- Oh god it burns. I am so exhausted but I pulled through another chapter JUST FOR YOU~ There's no way I have the energy to proofread this all, so please just accept it how it is. I WORKED HARD. If you guys have any requests, like as which character should be whatever being don't be shy to ask :3 If I don't have them planned as something already I'll work it in~  
>Lastly, to wrap this up so I can get me some red hot sleepytime, I would like to thank Run Korrigan Run, LOOK AT HER STORIES, she's awesome and junk. This is a little out of the blue but a user named TeamBartie's reviews have literally always made me smile. Make sure to look at all of her junk and stuff :3<p>

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><p>"Ugh," Kurt groaned, lifting his heavy legs to take another step. They had been walking for god-knows-how-long. The hard, dry land had at sometime been replaced with soft, squishy ground. The lake Artie had been swimming in occasionally veered off, widening or thickening at some parts, but was always there. At least they wouldn't have to worry about water anytime soon.<p>

"I know," Blaine said, grimacing as his wet pant leg clung to his ankle. He glared at Artie, who was leisurely floating on his back, not having to work hard to keep up with Kurt and Blaine. Occasionally Artie would extend an arm and backstroke a little, just barely leading the way. His tail sunk to the bottom of the water uselessly, just barely skimming the bottom of the stream.

"Problem?" Artie called, splashing some water up as he extended an arm for another backstroke. Kurt screwed up his face in disgust, wiping the water off his face.

"I don't understand," Blaine said, pulling the gem of the necklace out from under his shirt. The chain still extended over to wrap around Kurt's neck, and Blaine shook his head a little. He had no idea how the chain kept doing that. He gave the gem a little shake, desperately wanting it to work. "It sent us here. Why can't it send us to the Light Lands?" Artie scoffed.

"That clearing was probably the closest you can get to them using that," Artie said with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Why?" Kurt asked, imagining how much easier things would be if they could just disappear and be back at the castle. Or, better yet, at home. Kurt eyed Blaine a little before changing his mind. Despite looking tired and groggy, Blaine really was handsome. His dark, dark hair was looped into unruly curls, and bounced slightly with each step. Kurt knew firsthand just how soft that hair was. Uh, yeah, maybe he would take the craziness of the castle over going home if it meant he could stick around with Blaine.

"Don't you think it's protected?" Artie asked with another small backstroke. Kurt thought for a minute. That actually did make sense.

"Oh," Kurt said. "I guess I didn't think about that."

"You seem to not think about a lot of things," Artie said casually, watching a leaf drift by. Kurt stared at him for a minute before looking for Blaine for confirmation that Kurt had heard right. Blaine was still fiddling with that useless necklace.

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked, giving Artie his best bitch glare. Artie shrugged.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, his voice never quavering from that calm tone. "I'm not the one who almost got ate by Tina. I mean, Tina, of all people."

"Well, I didn't know," Kurt tried to defend himself. Artie cut him off.

"Ignorance isn't an excuse. Do you think any regular Merperson would think twice before devouring you just because you didn't know not to listen?"

"Well I couldn't exactly just stop hearing altogether." Artie laughed.

"Sure you could of," he began, but Kurt didn't let him finish. Leaning over, Kurt swiftly grabbed a small rock off their path and chucked it at Artie. It hit his arm, startling the merman. Artie flailed slightly, looking around for what hit him.

"What was that for?" Artie asked. Kurt scoffed.

"Just stop _feeling_," Kurt sneered, and admittedly maybe he was being a little unfair. But he could practically feel himself getting an unforgivable sunburn, his hair probably looked atrocious, he was tired, and his feet were starting to hurt. He was so not cut out for this. He had never so much as been camping in his entire life, let alone anything like this.

Blaine just not realized something was going on, as he had been trying to will the necklace to work on sheer willpower alone. It wasn't working.

"What's wrong, guys?" He asked, looking from Kurt to Artie.

"Nothing," Kurt grumbled, his pant leg catching slightly on a fallen branch. "I'm just grumpy is all. Sorry, Artie."

"It's all good in the hood, yo," Artie said with a wave of his hand. Kurt looked to Blaine in confusion, who returned the look.

"What does that mean?" Blaine whispered so Artie couldn't hear over the sound of the water. Kurt shrugged.

"No idea... Some weird Mermaid expression?" Blaine thought for a minute.

"Probably," he stated, dismissing the incident. Raising his voice to normal volume, he said "Artie, when do you think we should stop for the night, er," he looked up to the sky, which wasn't getting any darker. This was weird, as they had been trekking for hours. Besides that, he was extremely exhausted. A look to Kurt confirmed that he felt the same. "When does it get dark?"

"Get what?" Artie asked, opening his eyes, which had been closed in relaxation, to peer at Blaine. Blaine thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to phrase this.

"Well, you know, get dark. Like the sun goes down and everyone goes to sleep?" Artie thought for a minute. What was Blaine getting at? He didn't know a lot about the Safe Lands, except that, oh, wait.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about your set bedtimes," Artie said with a small laugh. "Yeah, we don't have anyone telling us when to go to bed here. It's just whenever." Kurt scrunched up his face in confusion, trying to make sense of what Artie had said.

"We don't have anyone telling us when to go to bed either," Kurt tried to clarify. If all of the real world Artie had seen was Finn's castle it was understandable he would have conflicting ideas about what things actually were like. "It just gets dark when, when well..."

"When it's time to sleep," Artie finished for him. Kurt shook his head, refusing to believe things were just set like that.

"No, I mean, nothings stopping us from staying up as long as we want..." He let his voice trail off as Artie gave a small laugh.

"Whatever you want to think, man," Artie looked to Blaine, who had resorted to violently flinging the gem on the chain. "I would ask for you to give me the necklace so I could show you how to work it, but I'm afraid if it leaves your necks for more than a second you'd be dead. Just lean over the stream." Artie padded his way to the edge of the stream, his arms resting on the edge. Blaine looked at him in annoyance.

"You knew, all this time?" Artie nodded. "Why didn't you tell me you knew how to use it?" Artie smiled.

"It's just too funny to watch you trying to work it," he answered honestly. "Give 'er here," he extended a hand, and Kurt and Blaine carefully got to their knees at the edge of the stream. Blaine carefully handed Artie the gem, the chain magically stretching out to just exactly as long as they needed.

"Ah, I see," Artie said, pushing his glasses up slightly on his nose. He cleared his throat, and Blaine was pretty sure his heart would stop. His eyes widened as he watched for Artie's next move. This was it. He was going to figure out what the big secret was. "Where's a place for us to stay for the night?" Artie asked casually.

"Seriously?" Blaine said, his voice flat. Kurt put a comforting arm around Blaine's shoulders.

"Hey, at least we know now, oh, _wow_," Kurt watched as a yellowish hologram shot out of the gem. It morphed into the design of the landscape they were standing in, a small solid dot beeping where they were standing on the map. Another solid dot was beeping a small way away, behind a large cluster of trees.

"There," Artie said, pointing at the dot behind the cluster of trees. "We'll stay there to sleep and regroup, then we'll be right back out. There should be a small community there we can stay with."

"Will they be friendly?" Blaine asked, remembering how the last creatures they encountered acted. He eyed Kurt nervously, not sure how he could protect Kurt if things got bad.

"They wouldn't be on the map if they weren't," Artie said simply. Kurt nodded slowly, his arm still around Blaine's shoulders.

"Would they be okay with us just barging in on them or what?" Kurt asked, looking at the blinking dot. A small semidot had appeared from the dot behind the trees and was fast approaching Kurt, Blaine, and Artie's dot. He squinted his eyes a little, wondering if his vision was just playing tricks on him due to his tiredness.

"Seems like they're sending a guard over here as we speak." Blaine couldn't help but shudder a little at his words, watching the lake for another mermaid to come swimming up. He wrapped an arm protectively around Kurt's waist, not wanting him to get enchanted, or whatever, again.

"_Ohmygod_." Kurt breathed, catching Blaine's attention. Blaine looked from the stream to the direction Kurt's eyes were looking. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Trotting up to them was what Blaine at first thought was a man riding a horse. He should of learned by now things weren't that simple here. A tanned man with a, was that a mohawk? Seriously? The trotting noise became louder as he got closer, and Blaine couldn't kid himself anymore.

This wasn't just a guy riding a horse. It was like the mohawked man was a horse. His large expanse of toned, tan torso morphed into what would be a horse's chest. It started as a very thick happy trail starting at the man's bellybutton, thickening down to the horse's front legs. Blaine was so caught up in staring at the man's obvious oddity he almost didn't notice the longbow slung over the man's shoulder, resting on his back.

He stopped in front of the trio, looking long and impressive, standing taller than even Kurt. The dark brown coat of his horse body gleamed in the sunlight, the same shade as the man's hair. He looked from Blaine, to Kurt, to Artie with piercing eyes. His eyes stopped at Artie, who showed no sign of being afraid, so much unlike Kurt and Blaine.

"Sup?" Artie asked, stuffing the gem of the necklace back into Blaine's hands. The hologram immediately disappeared.

"Nothing much, man," the centaur said casually, shifting his weight from hoof to hoof. "They're working us like fucking goblins out there," he said, shaking his head. He spit off to the side as Artie nodded in understanding.

"So I've heard. Hard times, dude. Oh, so, Kurt, Blaine, Puck," Artie said, motioning from Kurt to Blaine to who had to be Puck.

"Hey dudes," Puck said, giving them each a nod.

"H-H-H-Hello," Kurt stuttered, his eyes wide. Blaine looked to him nervously, tightening his grip on Kurt's waist. Shit, Kurt looked terrified. Puck barked out a laugh.

"He sounds like Tina," Puck said, motioning to Kurt. Artie laughed back, nodding.

"Funny story about that, actually," Artie began. After a moment he divulged into the story of Kurt almost being eaten by Tina, them both being in tears at the end of it.

"Oh god, I can't believe it," Puck said, shaking his head. "Tina, of all people."

"I know, I know, exactly what I said. Anyways, we need a place to stay for a rest." Puck nodded.

"Yeah, they're making arrangements as we speak. Whatever we can do for the winners." He looked to Blaine and Kurt and whistled slightly. "Together, already?"

"So it seems," Artie said, giving the boys a sly grin.

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><p>"I can't believe them," Kurt mumbled to Blaine as Puck led them through the thicket of trees. Puck and Artie had insisted him and Blaine keep their eyes closed while entering the community. Apparently they couldn't risk the safety of the villagers in case Blaine and Kurt were 'abducted and tortured for information'. It wasn't the most promising thing to hear but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care. He was exhausted.<p>

"You can open your eyes," Puck said, removing his hands from Kurt and Blaine's shoulders. Kurt removed his hands from where they were covering his eyes, what he saw not being very impressive. Instead of grass, the ground was beaten down earth, well-traveled and hard.

Simple tents were perched up here an there, some things even resembled elaborate tree houses, perched high in the sky. Because of the thick canopy of trees the sun was blocked out, giving the whole little village a nice twilight feel. If anything it was comforting, Kurt being so tired. He just wanted to curl up on the hard ground and sleep.

"This is nice," Blaine commented, looking around. Puck nodded, obviously proud.

"We do pretty well here." Puck said, leading Kurt and Blaine to an area thick with tents. Most of the tents looked occupied, yet people were walking about. Some carrying weaved baskets full of produce or running after children. They weren't all centaurs like Puck, but there was something unhuman about almost all of them. Kurt was too tired to even survey their oddities. He was pretty sure he saw some wings and claws but he didn't even have the energy to care.

Puck led them to a tent looking vacant, simple brown tent. The material looked like it were some type of smooth leather, probably plenty warm and not too bad looking. He motioned to it.

"You'll be sleeping here," Kurt nodded greatfully, ready to curl up when Blaine voiced something Kurt hadn't even noticed.

"Where did Artie go?" Blaine asked slowly, looking around for water. Puck jerked his neck to the left, and Blaine could only faintly see a splash of blue where the stream must of lead to.

"He's getting a little downtime. We have a few Merpeople staying here that would be thrilled to see him." A faint smile was on Puck's lips, and Blaine could almost faintly hear high-pitched giggles coming from the direction of the lake.

"Thank you for everything," Kurt stated, leaning against Blaine slightly for support. Puck simply nodded before trotting off in the direction of the lake, desperate to catch up with his old friend.

Blaine held the opening of the tent open for Kurt, who slipped inside. It really wasn't as bad as he was expecting. The ground was fluffy and soft as down feathers, and Kurt sighed happily. There was a pile of two folded pajamas, a simple cream color. Blaine and Kurt quickly slipped them on, happy to get out of their wet, worn clothes of the day.

Instead of a bed with a frame there was more of a soft mattress-like thing on the floor. Kurt had never seen anything like it before, but didn't care. It was big enough for the two of them, and that's all that mattered. Kurt crawled onto the far side of the bed, Blaine following. The bed was soft as a cloud, and Kurt could immediately feel himself slipping away.

Blaine slipped in close to Kurt, pulling the fur blankets over them. It was so warm and comfortable and dark in the tent it was impossible not to fall asleep. He looked at the back of Kurt's head as he felt himself drifting off, thinking about how pretty the other boy's hair was when Kurt turned to look at him. Blaine looked into Kurt's eyes, who was gazing back happily.

"Thank you for everything today, Blaine," Kurt finally said. Blaine felt a slip onto his lips.

"It was nothing," he said, shifting a little awkwardly. Kurt was still staring at him, with an odd, dreamy smile on his lips. Ever so slowly Kurt moved closer to Blaine, wrapping an arm around his waist, letting his hand rest on Blaine's back. Blaine smiled wider, scooting a little closer to Kurt's touch. Then, Kurt did something that surprised even him.

Moving impossibly closer, he pressed his lips to Blaine's, his hand moving up from Blaine's back to cradle the back of Blaine's head. Blaine wrapped his own arm around Kurt's waist, kissing him back gently. The kiss was soft and sweet and gentle and just everything both boys needed right now. The boys separated for air, and that stupid grin was plastered all over Blaine's face.

Kurt returned the goofy grin before tucking his head into Blaine's chest, settling in for the night. Maybe this wouldn't be entirely a bad thing.


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N.** EYES BURNING OH GOD I AM ADDICTED TO WRITING THIS STORY. FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. -falls over dead- I need to stop staying up super late to finish chapters. My stupid body can't take it. I like this chappie, though, because you get some hawt Klaine action and a little insight to Artie.  
>Also, yayyy! Thanks for telling me what you want some people to be, I'M LOOKIN' AT YOU, PLOTTERFTW -shifty eyes- I shall incorporate and junk. I'm still not exactly sure what Sam, Lauren, and Becky should be. I want to incorporate Becky because she's such a sugar pie. So yeah any ideas for those are appreciated, as well as anyone else you would like to see. So yeah, I'll shut up now. Enjoy the fruits of my labor.<p>

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><p>Blaine woke up a good half an hour before Kurt did, Kurt still comfortably wedged in his arms. It was so warm and cozy, he really didn't want them to ever have to move. He rubbed a few soothing circles on Kurt's back, Kurt sighing happily in his sleep. Kurt smiled, and it might of been one of the most adorable things Blaine had ever seen.<p>

After awhile of laying there, simply feeling Kurt all around him under their fur blanket, Kurt began to stir. Blaine smiled, brushing some messy hair out of Kurt's eyes. Kurt shook his head a little, his eyes fluttering open slowly. He looked up at Blaine, a small flush on his cheeks.

"Good morning," Kurt whispered. Blaine could feel Kurt's breath on his lips, they were so close.

"Morning," Blaine replied, closing the tiny bit of space between them. He pressed his lips to Kurt's in a chaste kiss. Kurt made a small noise of surprise, tensing up for just a second before moving his lips against Blaine's. Kurt's bottom lip found itself between Blaine's, and he couldn't help but give it a little bite. Kurt made an approving noise in his throat, tangling his hand in Blaine's hair.

Their kiss heated up from soft and gentle to hot and passionate. Kurt made a whining noise as Blaine pulled away from the kiss. Kurt couldn't help but groan at seeing him. Blaine's hazel pupils were blown up, his cheeks flushed, his lips red and swollen, slightly shiny with spit. Blaine moved from Kurt's mouth to his jaw, planting a little fiery kiss wherever he could reach.

Kurt pulled Blaine fully on top of him as Blaine's tongue started doing some pretty amazing things to his neck. Kurt was groaning and moaning, his noises doing nothing but egging Blaine on. Blaine nipped at an especially sensitive bit of flesh behind Kurt's ear when the opening to the tent abruptly opened.

"_Oh," _Kurt whimpered, too lost to notice the light streaming in. "Blaine do that again," he could feel Blaine's smile as Blaine nipped at the area again.

"Helllllo, what do we have here," a voice said. Kurt immediately tensed up, Blaine freezing on top of him. "Oh, shit. I shouldn't of said anything." Here was a small clicking sound as whoever rearranged their weight on their... on their hooves. Oh god, was that Puck?

"Huh?" Kurt said, shoving the still-frozen Blaine off his torso. Kurt sat up a little, squinting in the bright light. It was so dark in the tent, having the small light streaming in was like staring into the sun.

"I was enjoying the show," Puck clarified, opening the flap a little more. "I'm not sure how long humans are suppose to sleep, but I figured it was time to check on you. Guess I should of knocked." Kurt's eyes cleared, and he could see a tiny, smug smile playing on Puck's lips.

"Why, have long have we been sleeping?" Kurt asked, deciding to ignore the other part of Puck's statement. Puck seemed to think for a minute.

"Well," Puck said, smiling wider. "I don't know exactly how long you two were sleeping, but you've been in the tent for around twelve hours." Kurt flushed slightly, but still not letting Puck's words get to him. You know why? Because he just had the more gorgeous man in the world's lips all over him and quite frankly he couldn't be happier.

"I can't believe we were out for so long," Kurt commented. He wasn't sure if he had ever slept for such a stretch in his life. He stretched out his legs, which were stiff from lack of use.

"Out?" Puck commented, raising his eyebrows. "Is that what you kids are calling it these days?" Puck laughed a little, his long, brown tail moving from side to side. With that, he turned to trot off, eager to inform Artie of everything he had just witnessed.

Kurt shook his head, turning to comment to Blaine how rude Puck was. Blaine's face was burning red, his eyes downcast to stare at his hands, which were clasped in his lap. Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine's odd behavior. Sure it kind of sucked to get caught but it wasn't anything to be mortified about.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked, resting his hand on Blaine's clasped ones. Blaine flinched away from the touch a little.

"It's nothing," Blaine said, shaking his head a little. He looked up to Kurt, meeting his eyes with a small smile. Kurt wasn't buying it.

"Seriously, what's up?" Kurt asked, slipping his hand into Blaine's. Blaine looked at their clasped hands for a second before speaking.

"I've just never been with a guy like that before," Blaine stated, and that was mainly the truth. Kurt nodded slowly.

"Neither have I," Kurt informed him. "Are you not... You know... Out of the closet yet?" Kurt bit his lip a little, waiting for the answer.

"Well, yeah, my friend and parents back home know but," Blaine began awkwardly, trying to figure out how to phrase this. God, this was horrible.

"Did they not really accept you?" Kurt asked, basically reading Blaine's mind. Blaine blinked a few times before speaking.

"Well, my friends did, and, well, it was just my," Kurt cut him off with a kiss. "_Oh,_" Blaine sighed, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist.

"I understand," Kurt breathed against Blaine's lips. He didn't know firsthand, his dad had always been so accepting. But he could imagine how hard that would be. They didn't let the kiss get heated like before, and mutually pulled away after just a minute or two. A smile was playing on both their faces as they got up from the incredibly comfortable bed.

Blaine stretched his arms out over his head, his shoulders letting out a popping noise. He sighed happily before his eyes fell upon two sets of clothes folded exactly were they found the pajamas the day before. Their clothes from yesterday were gone, raising many questions.

"How," Kurt began, staring at the fresh clothes with scrunched up eyebrows. Blaine shook his head a little.

"I just don't even care anymore," Blaine stated, grabbing a pair of the clothes. They almost looked like they were from Finn's castle, simple black pants and lighter colored shirts. Not nearly extravagant enough for Kurt's tastes but they would have to due. Kurt grimaced, thinking about how awful his hair must look. He bet his skin wasn't any better, either.

"Ugh, I really need to shower," Kurt complained. Blaine nodded in agreement, buttoning the pants. They fit surprisingly well, not that he was suspecting anything else.

"I know what you mean," Blaine commented, slipping out of the tent opening before Kurt. Kurt tried desperately to smooth and flatten his hair, which was poofed out and fuzzy from lack of care the previous few days. His poor hair, he would never neglect it again.

Nobody was outside their tents, although it was obvious a few were occupied. There were a few centaurs trotting through the worn dirt road, but it was obvious none were Puck. It was almost peaceful. The sound of chirping birds and quiet trotting filled the air, coupled by the soft sound of running water in the distance. No matter which direction you looked, you saw large, thick trees blocking out the small community from the rest of the world.

For lack of a better idea of where to go, the boys decided to head in the direction of the water, hoping to find Artie. The closer they got to the water sound the louder it got. A more rocky terrain was coming into focus, so much unlike the woodsy appeal of where they had slept. It probably should of been obvious they would need different terrains for the varied species taking up residence in the community, but the thought had never crossed the boys' minds.

There was a small break where the hard, dirt road turned completely to grey gravel. It wasn't all just the same solid shade of grey, either. Some rocks were more bleached by the sun than others, some more crumbled. Kurt didn't think he would ever truly get over this. Large rocks were shoved together a small distance away, creating a waterfall.

Kurt's eyes widened as he took it all in. The waterfall had to be at least as large as his whole apartment building back home. Small bits of light green grass grew on the rocks at the top of the waterfall, bits of color blooming here and there were flowers grew. There was a small holding pool the running water led into, which led off into a stream leading out of the trees. It really explained how they got merpeople to and from the community.

There were several merpeople playing in the holding pool, and it was pretty obvious which one was Artie. Not only did he have the most piercing blue tail, he had a large amount of females crowded around him. He had an arm thrown around two mermaids that definitely weren't the ones Kurt and Blaine had originally saw him with. They doubted they were the ones who were in the pool with him so long ago at Finn's castle, either.

Artie's lips moved as if he said something, but Kurt and Blaine couldn't hear him over the roar of the water. Apparently it was something pretty funny or impressive, as the girls erupted in a fit of high-pitched giggles. Not wearing clothes must of just been a merperson thing, as none of these girls were wearing any sort of seashell top or anything the boys would of expected a mermaid to wear. Some of them had particularly short hair, leaving their breasts fully exposed. The boys had to look away in embarrassment for them.

"Arrrrtiee!" One of the mermaids called in a sugary voice. "You can't be serious!" Artie shook his head, a wide smile playing at his lips. No one had seen Kurt and Blaine walk up, they were so absorbed in their conversation.

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm totally serious." The mermaids all got caught up in their giggle fits once again. "I mean Tina, of all people!" Kurt looked to Blaine, an unamused expression on his face. Blaine returned the expression, and they looked back to the gaggle of merpeople.

"I knowww!" A random, short-haired mermaid called. "I didn't even know she knew how to call out!" The girls erupted in laughing fits again, and Artie looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, I mean, let's not be mean," Artie said, but the girls didn't hear him.

"Have you guys seen her tail? I've never seen one so black before!" Another mermaid called. She splashed the water with her long, hot pink tail.

"She's pretty weird," another mermaid said, tucking a lock of her sandy blonde hair behind her ear. A flower similar to the ones dotting the grass on top of the waterfall was tucked in her hair, her skin tanned and freckled attractively. Kurt felt a little pang in his stomach for Tina. He didn't know her, and she tried to, uh, well... eat him, but she didn't deserve to get talked about like that.

"She's not exactly," Artie tried to say before getting cut off again.

"Oh, and her skin! How is it so pale?" A chatty mermaid with curly red hair stated. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement, serious expressions on their faces.

"How vain could you girls get?" Artie finally said, removing his arms from the shoulders of two mermaids. He swam back a little, an obviously annoyed expression on his face. The girls immediately looked very hurt.

"Arrrrite," the sandy-haired mermaid whined, extending a hand to him. He dodged it, shaking his head a little.

"I-I don't understand what you girl's problem is," Artie said, looking at all the mermaids. Some of them had broken out in tears. Kurt didn't feel bad for them, of course. They were so overly dramatic. If anything Kurt felt a little proud of Artie for standing up for Tina. Artie just then seemed to notice Kurt and Blaine, padding his way over to the edge of the pool to greet them. "Hey, guys."

"Hi," Kurt said, eyeing the sobbing mermaids nervously.

"Hello," Blaine said shortly, grimacing at the high-pitched noises the mermaids were making. Artie looked at them and rolled his eyes a little.

"Just ignore them, merladies can get so dramatic." Kurt nodded a little, before realizing how ridiculous what Artie said sounded.

"So, do you just add 'mer' to the front of regular words for people and it applies to, uh, you guys?" Artie looked confused.

"Huh? 'Regular words for people'?" Blaine slipped his arm around Kurt's waist, giving him a little squeeze.

"Just don't worry about it," Blaine mumbled, not wanting this to become a long, confusing talk that answered nothing yet brought up so many more questions. Those talks seemed to be very common these days.

"Nevermind," Kurt sighed, shaking his head a little. Kurt grimaced at his reflection in the water. "Do you know where we could shower?" Artie looked a little confused.

"You could what now?" Kurt scrunched his eyebrows together. Was Artie serious?

"You know, uh, wash ourselves?" Yes, recognition in Artie's eyes.

"Oh, right. Well, you know, just hop in." Artie extended his hands in welcome to the pool of water. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" Artie looked a little confused, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Artie asked. "The water's fine." Kurt shook his head.

"That's not the problem. I mean how could we, you know, with everyone around?" Artie outright laughed at him.

"You humans are such prudes. The last winners were exactly like you."

"You knew the last winners?" Blaine piped up, immediately interested. Artie nodded.

"Yeah, I've known all the winners," Artie said nonchalantly. Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look Artie didn't understand.

"All of them?" Blaine asked for clarification.

"Well, yeah. I mean I didn't get to know all of them super well but for the most part. You know how it is. They don't always last long."

"All of them? Like, even the first winners?" Artie nodded, not sure where Blaine was going with this. "Then you would of had to be around since before the war."

"Well, yeah." Artie stated. He looked a little sad, and at first Kurt thought it was because Artie was remembering better times. "I still miss her," Artie said quietly.

"Miss who?" Kurt asked slowly.

"Well, the Queen of the Light Lands. We used to date." Kurt's confusion had to be painted all over his face, for Artie looked at him with a little shake of his head. "It's complicated."


	10. Chapter 10

"I can't believe I'm really doing this," Kurt mumbled, eyeing the pool of water nervously. Blaine swallowed hard gazing into the water, nodding.

"Just do ittt!" A mermaid called from the other side of the pool. The water was more than large enough for the twenty something merpeople and Kurt and Blaine, yet it still looked painfully small. Maybe Kurt was just being paranoid, but he really didn't like the idea of having to, well, _skinny dip_. Ugh, even the words sounded dirty. What was up with these people's obsession with being naked.

"You all have to turn around!" Kurt yelled, a flush rising on his cheeks. He had a towel wrapped haphazardly around his hips, Blaine overly excited to get them from the gem earlier. This stuff had to be coming from the castle, Kurt was sure of it. The fabric of the towels were incredibly nice, and he _knew_ his fabrics. Uh, it was a hobby.

"You're no fun!" Another mermaid called. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Just turn around!" Kurt called, taking a little step back from the edge. Blaine shot Kurt a sympathetic look before taking a deep breath, pulling his half of the necklace's chain off his shoulders. They would seriously have to figure something out about that thing. Even if the chain was always the perfect length, Kurt didn't like being that tied to anyone.

"You're not seriously going to just-" Kurt began, but stopped abruptly when Blaine threw off his towel, jumping into the water without shame. The mermaids all cheered loudly, clapping and whistling. Artie looked especially proud, waving his arms around yelling 'That's my boy! That's my boy!' Kurt grimaced, bringing up a hand to wipe the water from Blaine's giant splash off his face.

"Come on, Kurt!" Blaine said, a smile wide on his face. Little droplets of water slowly dripped off his soaked curls. Kurt looked at all the still-cheering mermaids nervously. First off, he was flawless. Going without a shower a few days didn't change that, of course. He still didn't feel totally comfortable with-

The thought was caught up as Blaine grabbed Kurt's ankle, pulling him into the water like some sort of crazed sea creature. Kurt's scream was caught in his throat as his hands flew up. His towel slipped from his hips, falling forgotten on the gravel as he was pulled into the water. The merpeople's cheers and jaunts were silenced immediately as he was submerged.

Wow, Artie was right. The water really was nice. It was warm and unnaturally smooth feeling. The moment Kurt's head went under all outside noises were silenced, almost as if the water itself was soundproof. Kurt let himself drift to the surface, the outside noise returning seemingly ten times louder than before after he experienced the peacefulness of being submerged.

Kurt looked to Blaine, a confused expression on his face. He had totally forgot to be mad at Blaine, which was saying something. If there was one thing Kurt Hummel could do it was hold a pretty impressive grudge. Blaine nodded a little at Kurt's confused face.

"I know, me too. I wanted to see if it did that to you too." Kurt nodded a little. Despite the water being... weird, it was so refreshing. Kurt felt like he could stay in it forever. Suddenly, Blaine looked slightly excited, grabbing the necklace that was around Kurt's neck. Oh, yeah, Kurt was still wearing that. He should probably take it off, he probably shouldn't be letting it get so wet. They need to keep it in working order.

"We should probably keep this dry and safe," Kurt said, slipping it off his neck. Blaine held the necklace proudly.

"Yeah, probably," Blaine said, not caring much. He was excited because he finally got to use the amazing thing again. After spending so long trying to get it to work, learning the secret was nothing short of magical. "We need soap!" He said proudly, and waited for the soap to appear. His smiled flickered as he stared expectantly from the dangling gem.

Kurt looked from the gem to their towels on the gravel. A few bars of ivory soap had appeared, stacked neatly on each other. Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine, who was jiggling the chain violently, repeating his phrase. Each time he said it, a few more bars would join the stack.

"Uh, Blaine," Kurt stated, putting his hand on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine shrugged it off, not wanting to admit defeat to the stupid necklace. He didn't want to have to ask Artie for his help again. He always got so smug about it afterwards.

"Not now, Kurt," Blaine ground out, trying everything he could think of to get the stupid thing to work.

"But, Blaine," Kurt said nervously. There were a good twenty bars of soap now, if Blaine would just look he would see.

"Kurt, I am not asking Artie for his help," Blaine mumbled. Kurt rolled his eyes, swimming to the edge and grabbing one of the bars. There were now a good fifty, their pile collapsing. A few bars fell into the water, sinking to the bottom. Blaine was too absorbed to notice. Kurt chucked the bar at Blaine, hitting him square in the shoulder.

"Hey, what was that for," Blaine began, before seeing what hit him. "How did you," Blaine looked to see Kurt leaning against the edge of the reserve pool of water. He was glaring at Blaine with a very unamused expression on his face, catching and tossing one of the many bars of soap up into the air.

"You are so stubborn," Kurt declared, before throwing the other bar at him. Blaine made to grab it, fumbling slightly before getting a good grip on it.

"See! Look!" Blaine stated, staring at the soap proudly.

"You're full of yourself," Kurt said with a small smile. Blaine kept his proud smile as he lathered himself up with soap. Kurt looked away, blushing slightly.

Thankfully the merpeople left the boys alone for the most part. Although, there was one instance where Artie somehow launched himself off the top of the waterfall. Kurt and Blaine had no idea how he got up there to pull off such a feat. They were left staring blankly as the mermaids cheered before shrugging the situation off.

They weren't sure what to do with all the extra soap Blaine had gotten, so they opted to just shove it in the pool and let it sink to the bottom. They figured the bars would just dissolve in the water and the merpeople would all get squeaky clean. If not, well, they would be long gone by the time anything bad would happen. It probably wasn't the most responsible thing to do but hey, they had a world to save. They couldn't hang around wondering what to do with infinite bars of soap all day. Sheesh.

The boys dried off, getting dressed and prepared to head off again. Puck was leading them to he opening in the wide circle of trees when they were stopped by someone. They looked down on the mop of what had to be unnaturally blonde hair, wondering what was wrong with this guy. He was so short, but he didn't look like a little kid.

"Uh, hey there, little guy," Kurt said awkwardly, looking down at the boy(?) who had stopped them. The blonde made an annoyed sort of face, and Kurt had to bite back a giggle. Maybe it was because he was so small, but the blonde boy had one big mouth. Kurt tried to stop himself from staring, but it was hard.

"Sup, Trout Mouth?" Puck said, smiling smugly down at the blonde.

"Stuff it, Puck," the blonde said, silencing the centaur. The blonde redirected his attention to Kurt and Blaine. Blaine didn't trust himself to talk, the little guy looked so ridiculous. "Hello, I'm Sam Evans," Sam said, extending a hand to Kurt, who had to lean down a little before shaking, then Blaine.

"Hello, Sam," Blaine said, a small smile on his lips. Sam had to be between three and four feet tall, but Kurt was never too good at gauging heights. "How may we help you?"

"I was separated from my tribe by a pack of crazy goblins," Sam stated, looking slightly sad. Kurt felt a small pang of sadness for the poor little guy. Sure, he didn't know what it was like to get driven out of his home by goblins, but he knew what it was like to get plucked out of your home. Kurt bit his lip a little, thinking about his dad. If anything, he was doing all of this for his dad. He needed to see him again. Kurt shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those thoughts. It was easier to just not think about his dad. It made him too sad.

"Do you want us to help you get back home?" Kurt asked slowly, looking down at Sam sympathetically. Sam was probably a little older than him, if Artie's age was anything to go by, but due to his height Kurt couldn't help but think of him as a little kid. Sam nodded a little, biting his lip.

Blaine watched Kurt nervously. He wished Kurt would talk to him first before just inviting people to join them like that. Kurt was looking at Sam like he were some sort of lost little kid. Blaine could sympathize with Sam, but he didn't know anything about him. He didn't want to put Kurt at risk like that. He knew any sort of qualms he had about Sam tagging along were as good as gone when Kurt made a loud 'awww' noise before dropping to his knees and wrapping Sam up in a tight hug.

"It'll be okay, little guy," Kurt soothed, patting Sam on the back. Sam looked slightly awkward at first.

"I'm older than your great grandparents," Sam stated before Kurt shushed him. Sam looked a little uneasy still, but leaning into Kurt's embrace. It wasn't long before Sam started crying, and Blaine realized they might as well have picked up a toddler to join the ride.

Puck led the boys plus Sam, they still weren't entirely sure what Sam was, out of the community. He did that same ridiculous thing, making the three boys cover their eyes as they walked out so they wouldn't know where exactly the opening was. Artie had to of taken the stream out, as he was waiting in a nearby stream for the trio when Puck allowed them to open their eyes again.

"Oh, Sam, hey," Artie said upon seeing the trio walk up to his stream. His tone was calculated and careful, like he was nervous of upsetting Sam.

"Hey Artie," Sam said. "Uh, Kurt and Blaine are going to help me find my tribe." Artie nodded, as that much was obvious. "Do you have any idea where they would be? You seem to have a hand in just about everything." Artie thought for a minute.

"Honestly, I have no idea. The Korrigans have always been pretty secretive, as they should," Sam nodded, looking a little sad. "I've heard rumors, though." Sam perked up a little. It was good Artie might have an idea as to where the Korrigans where at, but that also means some heinous beings might have an idea too. Sam swallowed dryly.

"Where do you think they could be hiding?"

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong> Okay, Guys, this is where I need your help. I can give Tina a bigger role, making her have to show the group the way to the Korrigans, also giving Sam a larger role. ~Orrr~ I could make helping Sam find the Korrigans more of a smaller thing, getting rid of him in just another chapter or two. Or if you guys have any other ideas, I would love to hear them. Thanks :3  
>Also, I'm spicing things up and putting the note at the end~ Ohoohoohoo I'm so spontaneous and cool. But yeah my girl Korrigan wanted Korrigans so I'm sorry if anyone was really banking on Sam being a trouty catfish thing, as was suggested D: Oooh also any other ideas for characters are more than welcome, I have a lot more figured out since I've started asking but suggestions are always welcome. I just decided on what Sue is so I'm super excited to work her in~ God and I'm pumped for the Warblers to get all up in this~ I should shut up before I spoil everything.<br>dslfkjdskf Also, I need to stop staying up super late to finish chapters. I'm dying/crying blood from staring at the screen. Hope you enjoyed.


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N.** Oh dear lord my ass is in pain from sitting here writing this. Longest chapter yet woot -fist pumps- There is no way I'm reading over all that. I need to walk around to ease the ass pain. Sorry about anything wrong with it.  
>Tell me whatchuu think about everything, my blood sweat and tears went into this. Especially my tears. Hahaha does anyone even read these AN's?<p>

_YO, KORRIGAN, I HEARD YOU LIKE KORRIGANS SO I PUT A KORRIGAN WITH THE KORRIGANS SO YOU CAN LIKE IT WHILE YOU LIKE IT_

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><p>"<em>Oh, Blaine,<em>" Kurt groaned, a small smile playing on his lips. He could feel rather than see the smile on Blaine's, as his lips drifted slightly lower on Kurt's abdomen. Kurt tangled his hand into Blaine's curly curly locks as Blaine nipped and licked at every little bit of skin he could reach. Kurt let out a small whimper as Blaine ran his hands down Kurt's sides. Every part of him was so sensitive, just the small motion tickled like crazy. His laugh caught in his throat, turning into a low moan as Blaine palmed at his covered hardness.

"You like that?" Blaine mumbled, placing hot, wet kisses along the waistband of Kurt's pants. Blaine's rough, gravely voice went straight to Kurt's cock, making it throb. Each time Blaine's palm rubbed against Kurt's cock a pang of pleasure shot through Kurt, delicious friction building up at an alarming rate, and oh my god did it feel good.

"God, yes," Kurt said breathlessly. Blaine sat up, straddling Kurt's hips. Blaine didn't waste any time, quickly shedding his shirt to join Kurt's, forgotten on the floor. Kurt shamelessly stared at the impressive expanse of chest exposed as Blaine rested his hands on Kurt's shoulders. Kurt groaned loudly as Blaine started rocking his hips into Kurt's, grinding their erections together through their pants. Kurt whined loudly, digging his fingernails into Blaine's back, sure to leave a mark.

"Vocal, aren't we?" Blaine asked, the lustful look on his face practically obscene. Kurt couldn't even look, everything turning him on so much. He wouldn't last much longer, this was all too good. There was a slight creaking noise, like a door opening. Kurt made a strangled noise in his throat, not wanting to be seen like that by anyone but Blaine. Kurt quickly shoved Blaine off him, his hard on immediately wilting upon seeing who stood in his doorway.

Puck stood with a smug smile on his face, his mohawk obscured by... by a_ sombrero laden with fruit? Really_? Kurt stared at him in confusion, his anger at being interrupted totally gone. Puck strode in, the shiny brown hair on his horse's body gleaming in the light. What was Puck doing in his bedroom?

"Semen has a high potassium content," Puck stated, reaching up to his fruit hat. Kurt looked to Blaine in confusion, but Blaine was giving Puck his full attention. "You should eat these to regain the potassium you'll lose when cumming your brains out in a few minutes." Blaine nodded, a grateful smile on his face. Puck pulled a bushel of bananas off his hat, tossing them onto the bed. Blaine helped himself to one, eating it hastily. He ripped another off the bushel, handing it to Kurt.

"You should eat this," Blaine stated matter-of-factly. "You don't want low potassium levels." Kurt took the banana from him, staring at the yellow fruit in confusion.

"Why should I worry about that?" Kurt asked, looking back up to Blaine, who had moved on to his second banana.

"Kurt, if you run low on potassium you'll get cramps." Kurt nodded, opening the peel of the fruit and taking a bite. He didn't really taste anything, but he didn't notice.

"Don't you care that this kind of ruined the mood?" Kurt asked, taking another tasteless bite. Blaine looked confused.

"Kurt, cramps would ruin the mood," Blaine said. Kurt made a noise of agreement, taking another bite of banana before he noticed something.

"Blaine, why are we in my room?" Kurt asked, looking around. The walls were a few shades off the color Kurt's were, but he didn't pay that any mind. His desk was there, but just the outlines of it, none of his skincare products were resting on it. Again, Kurt didn't notice. It looked enough like his room to him.

"You should probably wake up," Blaine stated, helping himself to another banana. "Kurt, wake up." Someone was shaking his shoulder, and he groaned, the picture of his room immediately replaced with blackness. Kurt opened his eyes a little to see Blaine watching him nervously in the darkness.

"Yeah?" Kurt asked, his voice cracking a little from not being used for hours.

"You were making weird noises and uh," Blaine motioned to a budding bruise on his neck, shiny with drying saliva. Kurt scooted a little away from him in the darkness, having to untangle his legs from Blaine's. Kurt wasn't hard anymore, but his cock was still pulsing slightly. Kurt blushed when he felt Blaine's budding hardness brush against his leg. "I didn't even realize you were asleep at first, I just thought you were being, you know," Blaine let his voice trail off.

"Right, oh, I'm sorry," Kurt said quickly, his blush deepening from embarrassment. Blaine laughed, shaking his head.

"Don't be," Blaine said, humor in his voice. Kurt smiled, amazed at the fact that Blaine could just brush off something like Kurt half raping him. Maybe Blaine really did belong here. Blaine smiled at Kurt's burning face in the darkness, trying to swallow his disappointment.

Of course on normal terms they were moving incredibly fast in the physical aspect of their relationship. Kurt had kissed him for the first time just two days ago, uh, maybe. It was kind of hard to keep track of time when the sun never moved in the sky. They had traveled all day with Sam and Artie, it being a pretty slow day. They had followed Artie and Sam's suspicions as to where to find the Korrigans, but their searching was so far fruitless.

However, Blaine smirked a little at the memory, Kurt had been a bit, well, touchy-feely all day. To the point of flat out shoving Blaine against a tree for a quick tonsil hockey session while Sam and Artie were discussing past hiding places of the Korrigans. Kurt had left Blaine standing there, leaning against the tree with a dazed look on his face to ask Sam some defining characteristics of the goblins. So, Blaine didn't find it too out of character when Kurt started whimpering and grinding against him, sucking a few more bruises onto his neck.

"Hey, are you guys up?" Kurt heard Sam's voice drift in from outside their makeshift tent.

"Yeah," Blaine said, sitting up from where they laid. Their bed was nothing more than a few stacked blankets, but since they were from the castle they were more comfortable than blankets had any right being. "We'll be out in a second," Blaine said, grabbing the gem dangling around his and Kurt's neck to get them some fresh clothes.

Kurt grabbed a set of the clothes, it being obvious which ones were for him. He slipped his shirt off without much thought, almost not noticing Blaine's eyes on him. At first Kurt flushed, before smiling a little. He took his time changing, letting Blaine see all he wanted. On Blaine's part, he was going in-fucking-sane. Maybe it was because he got a little taste of what to expect later in the relationship this morning, but all he wanted was to push Kurt right back down onto their bed and fuck his brains out.

Kurt denied himself the desire of throwing himself at Blaine, not wanting to hold up Sam and Artie anymore. So far every break they had taken since the beginning of their journey, which seemed like much longer than it really was, was to cater to Kurt and Blaine. Whether it was bathroom breaks, sleeping, or eating, it always seemed like Kurt and Blaine were the only ones with basic human needs.

Kurt had to rethink that last thought upon ducking out of his and Blaine's tent. Artie was laying half in the stream by the trees they had set up their tent, half out. His back was resting on the soft ground, his eyes gazing up into the sky unfocused. His tail floated uselessly in the calm stream, and Kurt's heart stopped. What was wrong with Artie? Was.. Was he dead? Rushing over to Artie, Kurt grabbed his shoulder and gave him a harsh shake.

"A-Artie?" Kurt said nervously. Blaine watched from over Kurt's shoulder. Oh god what would they do if Artie was dead? They were banking on him. He had so much information about the world that had yet to be tapped. Kurt gave Artie's shoulder another firm shake before Artie stirred. He looked from the sky to Kurt, then Blaine obviously confused.

"What's up?" Artie said, sounding drowsy. Kurt shook his head a little, his heart beating a million times a minute.

"We thought you were dead," Kurt said, letting go of Artie's shoulder. Artie looked confused.

"Why?"

"Well you were just laying there staring at the sky all blankly," Kurt stated. Artie looked at Kurt skeptically.

"Dude, I was sleeping," Artie said slowly.

"Who sleeps with their eyes open?" Blaine asked. Blaine knew fish didn't have eyelids, which was were his mind first went. But he was positive he had seen Artie blink before. There! Artie just blinked. So, the boy had eyelids.

"Merpeople have a nictitating membrane," Artie said casually. Kurt scrunched up his eyebrows. He had never heard of such a thing.

"What exactly is that?" Kurt asked slowly. Blaine looked to him.

"It's like a clear eyelid some animals have to protect their eyes. He was just using that instead of his eyelids, I guess," Blaine answered. Oh. Well, that cleared that up, then.

"Oh," Kurt said. "Sorry for waking you, then." Artie waved off his apology.

"It's all good, about time to wake up anyways," Artie stretched his arms out, stifling a yawn. Just then, Sam came walking up, easily slipping out of a thicket of trees. He was holding a basket of some sort of fruit, they kind of looked like green apples. When Sam set the weaved basket down, Kurt noticed they were actually red.

"I found some fruit," Sam stated proudly. Artie's face immediately lit up.

"Awesome! I haven't had any of these in ages," Artie exclaimed, helping himself to an apple. Kurt picked one up nervously, because he was almost positive it had changed colors. The apple was now yellow, and lightening to a white color. Sam nodded to Artie.

"Yeah, they normally don't grow by water, do they?" Artie nodded, taking a bite.

"Yeah, they're sweet though," he stated. Artie chewed and swallowed. Almost immediately upon swallowing, his tail started changing colors, just like the apple. It faded from that striking blue to a burnt orange. Kurt couldn't even bring himself to be surprised. He doubted he could ever be surprised again in his life.

Kurt and Blaine took bites of their own, uh, appleish-sort of things. They didn't taste like apples, surprisingly. The fruit had a more of a peachy, sweeter taste. They were much juicier, to the point of some of the clear juice spilling down Kurt's face from his first bite. He groaned, wiping away the excess with his shirt sleeve, a habit he never had before his journey. Kurt swallowed, looking around his arms and legs to see if any part of him would change color. Sadly, it looked like he was the same. That is, until he met eyes with Blaine.

"Your eyes!" Blaine and Kurt said in unison, pointing to the other's eyes. Wide smiles were splayed across their faces as they watched each other's eyes turn from purple to green to red to just about any other shade they could think of. It really was amazing. They watched each other's eyes until something else caught Kurt's attention.

"Sam, your hair!" Kurt said, laughing loudly. The Korrigan's hair had started changing from vibrant shades of plum to pink. They amused themselves with the fruit for awhile, enjoying the break from the tedious searching. Finally, the color wheel stopped spinning, showing them what color they were stuck with. Kurt's heart stopped when he realized their colors weren't changing anymore, stuck on the foreign colors.

"Oh god, will it stay like this?" Kurt exclaimed, looking from Artie's burnt orange tail, to Sam's dark purple hair, to Blaine's odd, bright blue eyes. Kurt had never wished he could see himself more than now.

"No, it'll fade off after a little while," Artie said casually, examining his new tail color with amusement. Artie looked up and laughed out loud at Kurt. "Oh, wow. Scarlet suits you," Artie said sarcastically.

"Hey," Blaine said. "It doesn't look that bad, Kurt." Kurt shuddered.

"You look so weird with blue eyes, Blaine." Blaine started to laugh, looking over the edge of the stream to see his reflection. "Don't laugh! It's creepy!" Blaine looked up to Artie, who made an odd noise.

"Eww," Artie said, throwing his hands in front of his face protectively. "It's like he's looking into my soul." Blaine scoffed.

"Shut up, it's the same color as yours," Blaine commented.

"Well, yeah, but I can rock the look," Artie stated. Sam rolled his eyes, tucking a lock of his dark purple hair behind his ear.

* * *

><p>After their fun with the apples, the boys set off again, the apple's effects still not entirely worn off. They had only been walking down the forest pathway for about half an hour when Artie abruptly made them stop.<p>

"Guys," Artie began, sounding nervous. Kurt and Blaine stopped walking, Sam taking a few steps forward not noticing the rest had come to a halt before looking around confused. Artie looked around a little, swimming to the edge of the creak to be closer to the walking trio.

"What's up?" Kurt asked, Artie's nervous tone becoming infectious. Kurt took a subconscious step closer to Blaine, not liking the worried expression playing across Artie' face. Artie shook his head a little, as if he wasn't believing whatever he had to say.

"Alright, guys, this has to be quick. They already know we're coming. I-I can feel them walking, the vibrations, they're stronger in the water. B-Blaine," Artie swallowed, hard. "I need you to get us some sort of weapon. Like, like a mace or a sword," Artie began, but Blaine cut him off.

"How about a gun?" Blaine asked. Artie looked confused.

"A what?" Blaine shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, I got this," Blaine stated, immediately fiddling with the necklace. Artie turned to Sam.

"I'm not sure what these are, but they're just oozing dark energy. I don't doubt you can sense it, too." Sam hadn't been paying attention. He was feeling lighthearted and carefree, not even thinking of the danger that was afoot. Now that Artie had said something, Sam really could tell. Each evil being had it's own imprint, as the feeling in the air was oddly familiar.

"I-I think they're goblins," Sam said slowly, his eyebrows scrunching together. Just then, he felt a pang in his side. It was a feeling he thought he would never feel again. Another Korrigan was close. Looking around excitedly, he tried to find them. They had to be close. "Guys, wait, I just felt it, there's another, another Korrigan, somewhere close by!"

"Sam, don't," Artie began, but Sam had already started running in the direction of the trees. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea, but it wasn't in the direction of the goblins. It had to of just been a coincidence. Or the Korrigan had escaped from the goblins, all the more reason for Sam to save them. No matter what, it had been so long since Sam had seen another of his people he couldn't help it. He had to try to and them.

"Sam, no!" Kurt yelled, turning to run after him. Blaine grabbed Kurt's arm, keeping a firm grip.

"Kurt, no." Blaine said firmly. "I can't have you running in after him."

"But, Blaine, he," Kurt began, his voice in distress. Kurt looked at the still shaking branches Sam had shoved out of his way nervously. Would Sam be okay without them to protect him? Oh, god, what if the goblins got him too? It hurt Kurt to even think about that.

"That was his choice," Blaine stated, loosening his painful grip on Kurt's arm. "The best thing you can do now is stay right here and wait for him to come back."

"Hello? Anyone?" Sam yelled as he ran deeper into the forest. The trees started becoming closer and closer as he ran, occasionally having to jump over over ground roots. Nobody ran directly through the trees, they were too dense. It made sense a Korrigan would go through here trying to evade the goblins. "Hello? I'm going to help you!" Sam yelled. He heard a whimpering to his left, and bolted in that direction.

He saw a splash of red hair hiding in a pile of brush. Sam quickly trotted up to the Korrigan, who sat whimpering and clutching her arm. Tears were freely streaming down her face as she looked at Sam. Sam's heart melted.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Sam stated, dropping to his knees to look at her arm. He had never spoken to her directly, as the group he always lived with was pretty large, but he recalled seeing her around. She obviously recognized him, too, as she let him examine her arm. She had a little scar on her hand, almost as if she were struck by lightening. She was probably still pretty scared, and frankly, he was scared too. He didn't even want to think about what kind of weapons the goblins had created.

Sam pulled her up and instructed her to follow him. He had to lead her back to Kurt, Blaine and Artie. They could help her. He kept her uninjured hand in his and he led her carefully through the forest. He abruptly stopped her once he heard ungodly loud banging noises from the direction his friends were in. He had never heard anything so loud in his life, and it was terrifying. He had no idea what was going on out there but him and the red-headed Korrigan would have to wait it out in the forest.

"These. Are. Awesome," Artie exclaimed each word with another shot from his pistol. Blaine smiled widely, brandishing his own.

"Knew you would like 'em," Blaine stated. Kurt held his own, it feeling awkward in his hands. He really didn't like violence of any kind, and was still fighting the urge to go running into the forest to make sure Sam was okay.

"Please," a nasally voice sounded. The boys looked around, unsure as to where it was coming from.

"Who's there?" Kurt yelled, gluing himself to Blaine's side. Blaine put an arm around Kurt's shoulder, not liking how bad Kurt was shaking. Blaine tightened his grip on his own gun, looking around for anything that would qualify as a goblin, not that he knew what they looked like.

"We will not hurt you, if you promise the same," the voice said. Kurt and Blaine looked to Artie, not sure of what to do.

"What do we do?" Kurt asked in a panicked whisper.

"I dunno," Artie said, shrugging. Artie looked just as confused as they felt. "We just want to pass!" Artie called out. "We don't mean you any harm!"

"And how do we know this," the voice called, sounding just as unpleasant as before. It was possible whoever it was was just sending off the bad aura to ward away anyone else with bad intentions, but that was unlikely. It was what Artie was banking on when he spoke again.

"Can we speak to your leader?" Artie asked, his voice shaking slightly. Kurt let out a small scream that caught in his throat when he saw someone appear in front of them out of thin air.

The man had green-tinged skin, sickeningly long, pointed ears, supporting clunky black glasses. His dark eyes were like beetles nestled deep in his face, his splotchy hair twisted and curled into a reddish brown afro. He was so unattractive it was almost painful to look at him.

"Hello," the nasally voice said. "I am Jacob Ben Israel, leader of the goblins."


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N.** I seem to stay up late a lot to finish these chappies, I really need to stop doing that. Sorry, but I'm too tired to read over for mistakes :c I'll fix them tomorrow. Maybe.  
>Oh, and, TeamBartie, you can in fact marry this story. My cat is a certified minister who would be happy to legalize the marriage. But I must ask you treat my story right. Try not to work late and make sure to remember all your anniversaries. Give my story the respect it deserves, for it is my child.<p>

* * *

><p>Kurt was too busy keeping his eyes away from Jacob to notice, but Kurt sure did. The moment Jacob made himself known Artie's face hardened, his jaw set. Blaine kept an arm wrapped firmly around Kurt, not wanting to set his sights off the boy for a second. The goblin made a disgusting noise in his throat, shuffling on his bony legs.<p>

"Hello, Jacob. Nice to see you," Artie quipped.

"Likewise," Jacob said, and it was obvious there was some bad blood between them. Kurt's insides squirmed when Jacob stared at him, his beetley eyes like two black holes. A smile creeped onto Jacob's thin, dry lips, making Kurt have to look away. "Hello," Jacob said, directed towards Kurt. It was too painful to look at him, Kurt had to respond with his eyes trained on the ground. Everyone Kurt had met so far was so, well, beautiful. He hadn't realized there was another side to it.

"H-Hello," Kurt said quickly.

"So, who are we?" Jacob asked, his voice drawling.

"Friends," Artie said before Kurt or Blaine could say anything. Jacob raised a bushy eyebrow, his disbelief obvious. "Look, you know me and I know you. Differences aside, if you just let us pass, we'll be on our way. We don't care about anything you've been up to." Jacob turned his head slightly to the side, obviously thinking something over. Artie swallowed, hard. It was a long shot but they might just get off the hook.

Artie knew from the moment he heard that nasally voice who it was, but he didn't want to admit it. He could be such an optimist sometimes, in the most dangerous way. He had to be more alert to these things. Jacob, as disgusting as he was, sadly wasn't stupid. He would play pathetic to get what he wanted, as was the idea behind his greeting to anyone getting too close to the goblin's whereabouts. Jacob was infamous for pretending to make peace pacts, then jumping travelers when they least expected it.

"I've never seen them around," Jacob said, examining Kurt and Blaine, squinting his small, dark eyes. Artie swallowed, he had to think quick.

"You wouldn't," Artie stated. "They're Selkies." Would it work? Looks like it would. Jacob nodded a few times, still examining Kurt and Blaine.

"You can pass," Jacob said, immediately disappearing. Blaine looked to Artie, opening his mouth, silently requesting permission to speak. Artie slowly shook his head no, it still wasn't a good idea. Artie placed his pistol on the ground, right at the edge of the creek, looking into the forest. Carefully the boys progressed down the worn path, their nerves on high alert.

* * *

><p>"Okay, it looks like it's safe," Sam mumbled, peaking through the trees. His blood had turned to battery acid the moment he saw Jacob, but he had to stay calm. He met eyes with Artie, who had slowly lowered some sort of something onto the earth at the edge of the stream. It was gleaming in the light, black in color. Sam had never seen anything like it before.<p>

After the trio had traveled out of the sight of the path, and Sam was absolutely positive the danger had subsided, Sam slowly crept out of the forest. He kept a hand tightly woven with the red head's, not wanting to let her get out of his sight. They ran to the river, not wasting any time in grabbing the weirdly shaped piece of metal and running back to the cover of the trees.

"Okay," Sam stated, looking around the trees for any sign of danger. The goblins were probably following Artie, Blaine and Kurt, so Sam figured him and the girl should be fine for now. Sam took a deep breath in and out, trying to clear his thoughts. They needed a game plan and they needed it fast. "First off, we need to find a safe place," the girl nodded in agreement.

"But where?" She asked. Sam thought for a minute.

"I really don't want to have to go back, but there's a small community not too far away from here, about a day's journey."

"How do you know they're still safe?" The girl asked. Sam smiled at her, at least she was smart. But there was nothing to worry about with the community. Puck, the main guard, liked to mess around and have fun, but he was very good at protecting what was his. He took so many measures, some of which were slightly ridiculous, to keep the community safe that there was no doubt in Sam's mind anything had happened to it.

"That isn't a problem," Sam stated. The red head nodded, eyeing the weird metal thing Artie had left behind.

"What's that thing?" She asked. Sam shrugged.

"I have no idea," Sam said, fiddling with the weird thing. It almost looked like you were suppose to hold it in your hand in a certain way. It was, for obvious reasons, far too large for him to hold naturally but he could get the picture. "Artie wouldn't of left it unless it was useful, so we should probably keep it."

"Right," the girl stated. Without waiting around any longer, they headed off in the direction of the safe spot. It would take awhile because they had to keep cover in the trees, but Sam didn't doubt they would make it there in one piece eventually.

* * *

><p>"I-Is it okay?" Kurt asked nervously, after they had about an hour's distance between them and where they met Jacob. Artie looked around a little before nodding.<p>

"We should be far away enough to talk," Artie stated simply. Kurt walked for a moment, not unsure as to what to say. Finally, he decided upon just asking the most pressing question on his mind.

"Is Sam going to be alright?" Kurt asked, his voice barely a whisper. Kurt knew Sam wasn't a little kid but couldn't help but want to protect him as much as he could. Artie squirmed a little, dealing with some conflicting thoughts.

"What he did, he did of his own accord," Artie stated, not wanting anyone to dwell on it. Personally, Artie thought Sam was screwed, but he would never admit that out loud. Artie left him the gun, and it was ten times more powerful than anything Artie had seen in his whole life, and not too hard to use. If Sam could figure it out, he would probably be okay. Probably. "I left him my gun, I'm sure you saw that. He can defend himself now." Kurt nodded slowly, desperate to believe any bit of good news.

"What was up with you two?" Blaine asked, vocalizing Kurt's exact thoughts that he couldn't articulate himself. Artie shrugged a little, looking awkward.

"He just doesn't have, exactly, well, a good reputation." Kurt could see why. His skin was so dry and flaky. Maybe people would like him more if Kurt hooked him up with a very nice facial scrub he had back home.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked, always the cautious one. Artie took a moment before replying, trying to figure out how to articulate.

"He's never really been in the spot light. Like, he's their leader, but nothing ever traces back to him. There's a lot of conflicting opinions, regarding the goblins. Their reputation changes from place to place. Honestly, if Sam didn't escape during their raid nobody would know it happened. I'm sure plenty of people wouldn't believe that they did that, either."

"He didn't look capable of much," Blaine said honestly. Artie grimaced.

"And I don't look like I can deadlift 350 pounds. Looks are deceiving." Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Can you really?" Artie smiled, but shrugged him off.

"Well, I don't like to brag or anything but yeah, yeah I can." Artie flexed probably more than necessary when he backstroked in the water, obviously enjoying the attention.

"Oh, wow, that's very impressive!" Kurt exclaimed, clapping his hands together and looking at Artie with a fascinated expression. Blaine wouldn't call it jealousy that made him want to bash Artie's skull in. Okay, maybe it was. Just a little. It wasn't anything major.

"I guess, I mean, just a little." Artie's smile was plastered on his face, and Blaine just wanted to smack it off. He didn't have anything against Artie, and he knew the boy was just enjoying the attention he was so used to. Blaine just couldn't help the jealousy. He didn't want Kurt looking at any other guy like that. Besides, how would Kurt and Artie even, well, y'know. Did Artie even have the proper equipment? Blaine gave him a quick once over. It didn't look like it.

"If he was so bad, why did he let us pass?" Blaine wondered out loud. He wasn't defending Jacob or anything, he was actually curious. Of course, also he would like to direct the conversation from Artie. Just in case.

"I don't think he would want to attack a two selkies and a merman," Artie explained. "I mean, if we were just random travelers I don't think he would of let us pass. He would of still spoken, to make sure they weren't anyone too strong, but not let them leave knowing his people's whereabouts. It was probably good he didn't see Sam."

"Why wouldn't he want to attack a mermaid and selkies? And why wouldn't it be good if he saw Sam?" Kurt asked, trying to make sense of the situation. The most Kurt had ever seen of the merpeople were giggling girls, and they didn't seem too threatening. Then again, there was something up with that Tina girl. Maybe the merpeople really were pretty strong?

"Well, a merperson could just sing to the goblins and really mess them up. Not that we're particularly stronger than anyone else, it's just we're stronger than goblins. Selkies aren't too strong but they stick together like no other. They're pretty chill, but if you mess with one you messed with them all." Kurt nodded slowly.

"The Selkies sound nice," Kurt said. He liked the idea of an entire group of people sticking up for each other like that. It was a comforting idea. "But what about Sam?"

"Korrigans, well, there aren't a lot of them left, and they're not too powerful alone. Throw one a sword and their a fun-sized serving of hell, though. That's kind of their problem, with the goblins. From what I've heard, they somehow made their metals ultraheated, so the Korrigan's couldn't hold them to defend themselves. They were pretty easy to take over after that. They're basically all gone." Kurt felt a pang of sorrow. He really hoped Sam was okay.

"Why- How?" Blaine asked. He couldn't think of any way to ultraheat metals like that. Artie simply shrugged.

"Everyone has their secrets. The only person who knows all the secrets of a species would be a member. We try not to let our secrets seep out, for obvious reasons." Wow. That actually made sense.

"I hadn't ever thought about it like that before," Kurt stated, and Artie nodded.

"You're not really like that, where you're from, right?" Kurt and Blaine nodded. "Must be nice."

* * *

><p>That night, or rather it felt like it was night, as it was pitch black in Kurt and Blaine's tent, Kurt turned over to look at Blaine. Kurt's eyes were already adjusted to the dark, so he didn't have any trouble seeing the peaceful expression resting on the boy's face. Blaine had an arm thrown haphazardly around Kurt's waist, his hand holding firmly onto Kurt's hip, having fallen asleep with the urge to not let the boy go.<p>

"B-Blaine?" Kurt whispered. Blaine's eyebrows scrunched together slightly, and he mumbled something inconsequential. Blaine had set up the tent over an hour ago, Artie agreeing to stay up, keeping guard. It made sense Blaine was already fast asleep, but Kurt was far too scared."Blaineee," Kurt whispered again, drawling out the last syllable. Blaine shook his head slightly, slowly waking up.

Feeling bold, Kurt wrapped an arm around Blaine's shoulders, resting his hand on the back of Blaine's neck. Kurt pressed his lips to Blaine's cheek, the skin there warm against his lips. Blaine sighed happily a little, more awake now. Blaine kept a hand on Kurt's hip, moving the other up to tangle in Kurt's soft hair.

"Hello," Blaine mumbled tiredly. Kurt planted a firm kiss on Blaine's lips, Blaine returning the kiss without a second thought. Well, this was nice. He didn't mind getting woken up if it meant he got a little lip action. Kurt broke off the kiss before it could heat up.

"Blaine," Kurt began, savoring the way Blaine's thumb rubbed at his hipbone. "I'm scared," Kurt whispered.

"Don't be," Blaine stated, pressing another small kiss to Kurt's lips. "You're safe." Kurt let Blaine kiss his face a few more times before saying anything.

"But Sam's not," Kurt said, his voice barely a whisper. Tears started collecting in his eyes as he thought about his friend. He only knew him a few days, but Sam felt like the little brother Kurt had never had. Kurt didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"You don't know that," Blaine said, nervous at the sight of Kurt's tears. He was never good at comforting people, but he didn't want to mess this up. He didn't want Kurt feeling sad. "He has his friend, and he got Artie's gun. He'll be okay," Kurt thought over Blaine's words as Blaine pressed a few kisses to Kurt's wet cheeks.

"Y-Your right," Kurt finally agreed, making Blaine smile in triumph. "But what about you? And Artie? And me?" The distress in Kurt's voice was obvious. Blaine continued pressing kisses to Kurt's face, mumbling his next words against the boy's skin.

"You don't have to worry about me," Blaine said between kisses. "Artie can take care of himself. He doesn't need us," Blaine's lips finally found Kurt's, their lips moving fluidly together. Like they were made to be together. "And, for you," Blaine said, with another firm kiss against Kurt's mouth. "I'll protect you," Blaine dragged his tongue across Kurt's lips, making Kurt gasp.

Blaine took the golden opportunity, slipping his tongue past Kurt's parted lips. Kurt groaned way back in his throat, rubbing his tongue against Blaine's. And, oh, Blaine tasted so good. Kurt couldn't help but make small noises in the back of his throat as Blaine resumed the rubbing of his hip, oh so close to where Kurt desperately wanted him to rub. Their kiss progressively heated as hands started to roam, the comforting safety that started the kiss now completely replaced with raw passion.

Kurt clawed at Blaine's clothed back when Blaine let his mouth drift lower, exploring Kurt's neck. Kurt had realized the first time Blaine had drifted there that his neck was oh so sensitive. And when Blaine sucked on his one part, _oh, right there_, it made him become completely undone. Kurt groaned loudly, squirming under Blaine's every touch, completely lost in the hot kisses before he gained some sense.

"B-Blaine," Kurt panted, and Blaine looked up from Kurt's clavicle, which he would bruise if he kept his sucking up. Which was basically Blaine's plan. Okay, maybe he was slightly territorial, but, could you blame him? Kurt was gorgeous. He just wanted the world to know Kurt was his. "We should stop," Kurt strained out, rubbing at the scratches he surely made on Blaine's back.

"No we shouldn't," Blaine said breathily, leaning back down to Kurt's exposed collar, licking and sucking and nipping at just about everything he could reach.

"We need to," Kurt groaned. Could Blaine make this any more hard on him? Blaine wasn't listening, as he searched for that one little spot again. Kurt moaned deeply. Score, found it. Blaine gave it a few more nips before returning to Kurt's lips, planting one more final kiss.

"Alright," Blaine breathed against Kurt's lips. His lips were wet with spit, making them almost burn with the chill of Blaine's breath. "Not tonight." Kurt nodded, still breathing heavily.

"But soon," Kurt said, turning back around to discourage any more kisses. Blaine spooned up behind him, wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist, thankfully not touching Kurt's hardness.

"Soon," Blaine agreed, taking a few more breaths to calm his frantic heart rate.


	13. Chapter 13

That morning, or so it felt, Kurt and Blaine awoke and changed with many stolen glances and fleeting kisses. Kurt couldn't wipe the coy smile off his face. Sure, him and Blaine didn't finish or anything last night, but he was still feeling very close to Blaine. Emotionally, and, with another sweet kiss, physically. Kurt's smile widened as he looked into Blaine's hazel eyes, his arms wrapped loosely around Blaine's neck, Blaine's around his waist.

"You're so adorable," Kurt said, pressing his lips to Blaine's. Blaine's face was dusted in a light stubble from not shaving. Kurt hadn't shaved either, but he never needed to, he didn't have the ability to grow anything even semi resembling a beard. Kurt nuzzled Blaine's jaw, the pointy hairs there scratching his face.

"Hey," Blaine said, laughing at the tickling sensation. "You're the cute one," Blaine kissed Kurt's cheek, the skin there warm and soft under his lips.

"Stoppp," Kurt whined, dragging out the last syllable. Blaine smiled at how cute Kurt looked, the boy's flush extending down the front of his shirt. Blaine pressed soft kisses to the hot skin there, making Kurt squirm happily. Blaine's hands moved from the small of Kurt's back to Kurt's sides, tickling the skin there. "Ahah, Blaine, stop," Kurt screeched, laughing and squirming, trying to get out of Blaine's grasp.

"No no no," Blaine mumbled, keeping his hold on Kurt true, his fingers flying to every every bit of skin he could reach.

"If you guys are going to do it in there, at least have the courtesy to be quiet," Artie called from outside their tent. Kurt's face burned as he slipped out of Blaine's hands. Blaine was laughing outright at Kurt's embarrassment.

"We were not," Kurt said, trying to defend them, but Artie cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kurt and Blaine slipped out of the tent to find Artie leaning over the edge of the stream a few feet away, an amused expression on his face.

"We weren't doing _that,_" Kurt said, putting special emphasis on the last word. Artie laughed.

"Don't think I don't know what goes on in that tent," Artie said, shaking his head a little. Kurt just wanted to die of embarrassment. "I'm not stupid, why else would you guys insist upon having cover _every time_ you sleep."

"How else would we sleep?" Kurt asked incredulously. "It has to be dark for us to sleep." Artie shook his head.

"Finn, Quinn, and Rachel never needed it to be dark," Artie said with a raised eyebrow.

"They're not exactly normal," Blaine stated, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He hadn't thought of those three in awhile.

"They're completely normal," Artie defended his three friends. "You're the weird ones."

"Of course we are," Kurt said exasperatedly, shaking his head. Blaine opened his mouth as if he were going to say something when Kurt stopped him. "It's not even worth it," Kurt stated, and Blaine couldn't help but nod. Kurt had a point.

"Oh, check where we are on the necklace. I want to make sure we haven't veered off course," Artie said to Blaine. Blaine nodded vigorously, always happy to use it. It really was amazing. Kurt gave Blaine the gem, which was under his shirt.

"Let's see here," Blaine said, turning the pretty pink crystal around in his hand. "Where are we?" Blaine asked, and that amazing yellow hologram shot out. Above a remake of their terrain, accompanied by a beeping dot showing where they were standing. The map showed the full extent of the large hill they faced. Things didn't look any better for the legs on the map, sadly. The hill just got steeper to the point of being mountainous.

"I don't think we can climb that," Kurt said truthfully. Artie nodded, watching how the stream forked off in two directions about a mile along the road.

"And I can't swim up it. Unless one of you could carry me, but my tail would peel and that shit sucks." Kurt nodded a little, looking at the two directions the stream forked. To the left, the stream traveled until joining a larger river, but didn't look like it would go in the direction they needed to head for some miles. To the right the stream led through a clearing, maybe? The trees thinned and dispersed until they were completely gone, but there were no other defining characteristics of the area. Maybe it was another community?

"Can we go over that way?" Kurt asked, pointing out the pathway. Artie examined it for a minute, deep in thought. Eventually the pathway did lead them to where they had to go, although they would have to cover more land than if they could just make it up the mountain.

"I've never been down that way," Artie said honestly. "I don't know what to expect, but it doesn't look like we really have a choice. If only we had a griffin or someone like that to fly us over. Those are way rare, though. Normally pretty mean, too." Kurt nodded, fine with the plan. Sure, it would take longer but it would get them where they needed to go. He would also get to see more of this strange world, so that was a plus. Maybe. Blaine, however, wasn't as excited about the plan.

"If you've never been down there, how do we know it's safe?" Blaine asked, and Kurt couldn't help but admire him a little. Kurt would have never thought of that. Artie shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable.

"We don't know if anywhere's safe. We haven't seen the front lines of battle, and hopefully won't, for that matter, but I've basically just been guessing this whole time. It's not written in stone anywhere were the good guys are and where the bad guys are. We're close to the Light Lands, so of course there would be more good than bad. So, I mean, it's like an eighty percent chance they're all good." Artie wasn't exactly that sure, but it was a close call with the goblins. They couldn't waste time in getting to the Light Lands. They had so much more ground left to cover. Blaine seemed to reluctantly accept Artie's explanation.

"I guess that makes sense," Blaine said, not liking that plan but understanding there was nothing else they could do. "I guess that path it is."

* * *

><p>As they walked, Blaine wouldn't let Kurt out of his grasp. They were either glued together at the hip or, like right now, holding hands. They hadn't particularly noticed, but they drifted closer to the water's edge than they would have under any other circumstances. Artie, too, seemed slightly nervous, instead of doing half-asleep backstrokes and lazily floating, he actually kept a hand on the edge of the creek, looking alert as he swam.<p>

Kurt was looking everywhere but down when it happened. There was a crunching sound under his shoe, as if he had stepped on glass. The moment Kurt heard it, he jumped back, clinging to Blaine, terrified. Blaine wasted no time, his pistol already clutched in his hand. He unloaded it at whatever Kurt had stepped on.

"Talk about overkill," Artie stated, looking at the ground as the smoke cleared. All Kurt stepped on looked like a broken piece of glass, partially dust now thanks to Blaine's bullets.

"That's odd," Blaine said, his mind on high alert. Whatever it was it was definitely man made. What would it be doing here?

"Not really," Artie said, leaning over the edge with his entire upperbody. He looked kind of funny to Kurt and Blaine, being out of the water like that. "I've seen them around Finn's castle, like every year for a few months. I forget what they called them, though."

"Odd," Blaine said, wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist. That was weird, Kurt was still shaking. "Kurt, what's wrong?" He asked, nuzzling into the crook of Kurt's neck in an attempt to comfort the boy. Kurt normally calmed down when being cuddled, it was weird he was still shaking.

"_God,_" Artie said, sounding amazed. Blaine took a step back from Kurt, following Kurt and Artie's eyes. _Oh my god._

"W-What-," Blaine began, taking a small step in front of Kurt, as if shielding him. "Art-Artie, w-what," Blaine stuttered out, his eyes widening.

"I dunno," Artie whispered out.

"Is that a good thing?" Kurt forced himself to say, wrapping his hands in the material of Blaine's shirt.

"I dunno," Artie repeated. Glaring in the light was a giant dome of some sorts. You couldn't tell until getting close, as the inside of the dome looked like it matched the foresty terrain. But, something wasn't right about it. They took a few steps closer, and it was obvious something was very wrong. The air surrounding the dome swirled with something white, as if it were holding something in.

"S-Should we run away?" Kurt asked, scooting impossibly closer to Blaine. Artie shook his head.

"N-No," he said, his heart beating wildly against his chest. "We need to go through," Kurt made a strangled noise in his throat at the thought. Whatever was inside that dome wasn't natural, and that was terrifying to him.

"We can't!" Kurt said, his eyes wide. Artie shook his head, swimming towards the dome. Kurt and Blaine had no choice but to follow him.

"What is that thing?" Blaine finally asked as they approached. Kurt was practically glued to Blaine's back, Kurt's arms wound around Blaine's waist, afraid to let him go. Truthfully Blaine was just as scared as Kurt was, if not more, but he would never show it. Kurt needed him to be strong. Kurt needed his protection. Artie stared at the dome as it's contents visibly changed as they got closer. Small details, like the different shades of dirt or the way the sun glinted off the water were now gone. The detail from the bark on the trees were now gone, looking more like one solid shade of brown. The leaves merged together.

"It's hiding something," Artie finally said.

"Hiding what?" Kurt asked, his voice laden with nerves. Artie shook his head slowly, swimming closer. The dome was now only a few yards in front of them, stretching out for just about as far as they could see.

"I have no idea," Artie said. "I've only ever heard stories about them. Although," Artie cleared his throat a little. "I've always heard they were like ultimate safe places." Artie swallowed. "You would have to be really powerful to make a whole border." Artie chose to leave out the fact that you could also made a border by being incredibly evil.

"How powerful? Like the goblins?" Blaine asked, thinking back to how Jacob just appeared and disappeared like it was no big deal. Artie shook his head. "Like the merpeople?" Blaine tried, thinking back to how they could transfix people with their song. Artie shook his head. "Like, oh! Like a Queen of one of the Lands?" Artie shook his head.

"If they had that kind of power there wouldn't be a war going on. They would just isolate their lands and that would be that. Well, they would if they grew up a little." Artie worried his bottom lip into his mouth, and they were just a few feet away from the dome now. The trees inside the dome looked like something a child would finger paint, just brown streaks with globs of floating green. The closer they got the less real the allusion seemed. The water was just a dark blue line starting at the bottom of the dome. The sky was a light blue blur, the clouds nothing but white blotches. The sun was just a dark yellow splash in the sky.

"Then what could make something like this?" Blaine asked, trying to think of who could be more powerful than the Queens. No one he had heard about yet.

"A god," Artie said simply. And with that, Kurt, Blaine, and Artie pushed seamlessly through the border to the unfound land.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong> LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL, WELP, THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PLACE TO END THE STORY. SEE YOU NEXT TIME, KIDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :'D


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N.** Yayyy! Finally done with my longest chappy yet -fist pumps-  
>I have to get my fanciest pants all nice and dry cleaned for tomorrow, so no time to read over, sorry :c I have a job interview~ -dances-<br>But yeah next chapter might be kind of short for that reason, so I hope this helps even it all out.

* * *

><p>Immediately upon walking through the barrier, the boys experienced a falling sensation. It reminded Kurt of the feeling he used to get once in a blue moon, lying in bed. One minute, in the foggy realm between asleep and awake, the next feeling like he were falling off a building. For a fleeting second he almost felt like he were about to realize he was in his bed back home, waking up after a particularly long dream.<p>

As the cold air screamed in his ears, Kurt realized this was no dream. He tried to open his eyes, maybe he could grab something or at least see where he were falling to. The air burned his eyes, making them water and immediately shut. All he could see was a flash of white. Not cream or eggshell or seashell or any other word his fashion magazines used to describe the color. It was the purest white he had ever seen, plain and simple. Like a camera's flash.

He opened his mouth to scream, as a last resort. The icy air made him choke, and he buried his face into his arms. He could hear Blaine yelling a little below him but Kurt just couldn't reach. He could faintly hear Artie scream out a string of curses over the air screaming in his ears. They fell and they fell and they fell and they fell until suddenly it stopped.

With a thud, they finally hit something, the falling feeling still lasting a few seconds although they were still. Kurt faintly realized he was freezing cold, almost as if he fell in a pile of snow. He laid there frozen, too scared to move. He felt fine, but was afraid of, well, spinal injuries and, he thought of Artie, paralyzation. He laid there with his eyes still closed as Artie flopped around somewhere to his left, or was it right? He was so dizzy he couldn't even tell.

Eventually he felt Blaine stir too, groaning and sitting up. Kurt breathed in and out heavily, finally opening his eyes. At first, everything was white. But his eyes still burned with the cold. When his vision cleaned further, he could see a greyish black sky, soft bubbles of snow lowly drifting down. Kurt shivered involuntarily rubbing his arms with his hands to warm up. Oh, look at that. Not paralyzed.

"Augh!" Kurt exclaimed as Artie flopped, his frosty tail rolling over Kurt's face.

"I'm sorry man I just don't like this!" Artie exclaimed, his arms flailing. "I can't get a good grip!" The snow he kept trying to grab at kept slipping from his hands. His arms were shaking, his body rejecting the cold. His teeth chattered as he could feel his body temperature dropping. Blaine realized with a shock that fish were cold-blooded.

"A-Are you cold-blooded?" Blaine asked, his own teeth chattering. Artie might of nodded, but his whole body was convulsing. Blaine fumbled with the chain of his necklace, trying to find the pink crystal. There it was, resting on the ridiculously extended chain somewhere between Kurt and Blaine. Blaine grabbed it and it was _throbbing._ Blaine examined it a little closer, and realized it had a light glow to it. Blaine didn't even have time to worry about the gem's odd behavior, immediately yelling at it their need for warm attire.

As soon as the words left his lips the boys were decked out in winter gear. Well. That was convenient. Maybe the crystal somehow knew they really needed the clothes on at that particular moment. At any rate Artie was happy. His snug jacket was lined with hand warmers, and he could feel the frost melting off his sensitive tail.

Artie shivered a little as a cold gust of wind blew by, snow collecting on them already.

"I don't think we're going to find any water anywhere around here," Artie stated, looking around the white wasteland. They were on a hill of snow, raised high above everything else. Once his eyes got used to all the white, he realized the snow had a more greyish tint in the dark. He didn't even want to imagine how painful it would be to look around if the sun was out. The darkness of the sky was probably the only thing protecting them from snow blindness.

"Oh, _wow_," Kurt breathed, his breath turning to fog and drifting off on the wind. Blaine stood shakily to join Kurt, looking off the edge of the hill. _Wow._

Wow was right. Off the edge of the snow hill was a great slope, leading down to a beautiful little town. Little cottages and stores were clustered together, paved streets going from here to there connecting everything in the small town. It all looked so precious and little, like a doll town, as they were so far away. What could of been a frozen lake looked smaller than Kurt's pinky nail, as he held his hand up for comparison. The only thing that was average-sized, even from that distance, was a castle so much similar to Finn's.

"It's beautiful," Kurt said, watching small puffs of smoke rising from a brick chimney. Blaine nodded, pulling Kurt close.

"Not as beautiful as you," Blaine said, and sure it was a little lame but it made Kurt's insides squirm excitedly. Artie flopped over, unsure of how to get around when he couldn't swim. He misguided his flop, however, flying right between Kurt and Blaine's legs. The snow at the edge offset, crumbling down. Kurt screamed, covering his face in his hands as he tumbled down the endless hill. He was so dizzy all he could think was thank god he hadn't eaten anything anytime soon, or else it would of surely come back up.

Blaine groaned loudly upon finally hitting the flat, frozen ground. Blaine yelled, having fallen on his arm wrong. Oh god, that did not feel right. When he tried to move it, pain seared, feeling like his shoulder was stuffed full of broken glass. He swore, his shoulder immediately slumping limp to his side. He thrashed around his legs, the pain stabbing each time he breathed.

"What's wrong?" Artie asked, sitting up from beside him. Artie had a thin line of blood travelling down his lip from landing on his face. "Oh, shit," Artie said upon seeing Blaine's shoulder slumped by his side awkwardly. Kurt sat up, shaking his head, snow flying in each direction as it left his hair. He had lost his hat somewhere down the hill, the necklace was no longer around his neck. Which was probably a good thing, it more than likely would of strangled him while falling. He saw Artie leaning over Blaine, his face scrunched together in concentration.

"What?" Kurt asked, crawling over, using the path Artie's tail had indented into the snow. Artie shook his head a little, undoing Blaine's jacket, making Blaine cry out.

"Looks like Blaine has a dislocated shoulder," Artie said, pulling the jacket slightly off the injured shoulder. He pulled down the collar of Blaine's white undershirt, the little bulge of Blaine's dislocated humerus pushing against the skin, confirming Artie's thoughts. Blaine thrashed his legs around a little more, in obvious pain but trying to hide it.

"Oh god," Kurt said, his face paling. Artie noticed Kurt wasn't wearing his half of the necklace, and could feel the different creatures lurking around the town. They didn't seem bad, but that could be deceiving. Artie quickly grabbed the necklace and threw the chain of it over Kurt's head. Kurt didn't even seem to notice. If anything, the boy looked a little sick, his eyes locked on the empty drooping of Blaine's shoulder.

"This is going to hurt," Artie warned. Blaine groaned, his heartbeat in his shoulder, his neck going numb. On impulse, Kurt grabbed the hand of Blaine's uninjured arm. Blaine looked up to see Kurt's light blue eyes swimming with tears, his face chalky white. Blaine gave a little smile, which Kurt returned. This was the last Blaine saw before it felt like Artie started repeatedly stabbing his tender shoulder. Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, yelling out.

Artie slowly, slowly, ever so slowly (_couldn't he go faster?)_ lifted Blaine's injured arm. Kurt kept his hand tightly entwined with Blaine's throughout the process. Blaine held onto Kurt's just as tightly, which Kurt took as a good sign. Blaine didn't scream or flail or anything else you would imagine would accompany intense pain. Instead he created a shell, his face hardening and the rest of his body clamping up. But, as soon as it started it stopped.

There was a small noise as Blaine's shoulder popped back into place, Blaine's groan turning into a sigh of relief. The pain hadn't totally subsided, but the vast majority of it was gone. His shoulder was still swollen and throbbing, but there was plenty of ice around. Blaine groaned as he moved his shoulder around in a circle. Kurt smiled.

"Feel better?" Kurt asked in a tender tone, brushing Blaine's curly hair out of his face. Blaine nodded a little, gazing into Kurt's eyes with a stupid smile. That is, until he noticed the blood leaking from Artie's lip.

"Jesus, Artie, are you okay?" Artie shrugged.

"More or less. I was lucky, my face broke my fall." Kurt laughed outright at Artie's train of thought before looking to the small city. _Wow,_ it was much farther off from the hill than he would of expected, but still so, so beautiful. The small lights were maybe about a mile's walk off, not too bad but leaving much to be desired.

"Where should we go?" Kurt breathed, his eyes glued on the town.

"Probably to the castle," Artie stated, helping Blaine sit up. Kurt stood, a small pain in his left thigh. Ugh, he must of hit it off something. It was nothing too terrible, though. He could troop through. Kurt brushed off some snow that was collecting on his clothes before extending his poor Blaine a hand to help him up.

Blaine groaned a little but made it up. He definitely did not fall gracefully. Everything was sore and hurt, the throbbing of his shoulder getting a little more intense from him moving. Ugh. It was going to be hard to get to the castle like this. Especially if he had to carry Artie the whole way.

"I have no idea how I'm going to carry you all the way to that castle," Blaine said to Artie. Artie looked uncomfortable, looking at the distant town, and even more distant castle.

"I guess I could, like, just drag myself," Artie said, experimentally trying to drag himself around. His tail was too heavy, and he couldn't get a good grip on the smooth snow. He ended up just flopping around a little pathetically. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, that's a no go," Artie said, resigning to just lay there on the cool ground in defeat.

"I'm not sure how we're gonna do this," Blaine said, walking around Artie, trying to see how best to hold him while keeping the weight off his bad shoulder. Artie looked too big to kind of cradle, which would put most the weight on his good shoulder, but it would still be a little painful. Blaine looked up to Kurt, to ask him how he thought Blaine should try to hold Artie when he noticed the annoyed expression on Kurt's face. "What's wrong?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt nervously. Was Kurt in pain? Kurt pursed his lips to the side a little.

"I don't understand why I can't just hold Artie," Kurt said in a bitchy tone. Blaine's eyebrows shot up. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Oh. Well, I mean, I guess we could do that, I mean if I really can't," Blaine began awkwardly. Artie wasn't very big, but that tail looked awfully heavy. Blaine didn't want Kurt hurting himself by trying to carry Artie or anything. Kurt looked even more annoyed at Blaine's words.

"You seriously think I'm that helpless?" Kurt asked in an exasperated tone. "You just had a dislocated shoulder! You don't need to be carrying Artie around. I can do it just fine," Kurt crossed his arms, glaring at Blaine. Oh. Well, this was unexpected. Blaine never thought Kurt couldn't do it, he just, well, never thought about it. Besides, Kurt was so delicate looking, almost like porcelain. Blaine didn't want Kurt to have to do anything he didn't want to.

"No, no, no, Kurt," Blaine repeated. "I don't think you're helpless!" Blaine took a step towards Kurt, reaching out to hold his hand, but Kurt smacked his hand away.

"I don't want to hear it, Blaine. I can do it just as good as you can." Blaine squirmed under Kurt's glare, feeling awkward. That wasn't what he meant at all. Artie sighed, shaking his head at the couple.

"Guys, I get that you're having a lover's spat and all but I think my tail is getting frostbite."

* * *

><p>A few minutes later found Kurt holding Artie, bridal style, walking towards the town. He was giving Blaine the cold shoulder, still mad at him. Artie weighed about the same amount as a regular human, even though he had to of been a good few inches shorter if he could stand up straight. His tail was so dense, or how Artie explained, 'pure muscle', it would have made up for the weight.<p>

The only sound was the occasional gust of wind and the constant crunch of their footsteps in the snow. On a particular gust of wind, Kurt could have sworn he heard music. He watched the gust and the snow it carried fly off, accidentally meeting Blaine's eyes. Kurt flushed and looked away quickly.

The closer he got to the town the louder the music got, although he couldn't pick out any particular words or phrases. It was just so pleasant. Kurt found himself humming along to the odd beat. He didn't understand it, and had never heard the music before in his life, but it was catchy. He could hear Artie humming along in his arms, too.

Finally, they trekked to a large gate at the entrance of the town. Nobody was guarding it, which Artie found odd. He chose not to say anything about it, however. He didn't think it was a good sign, but he wasn't positive. It was nothing to freak Kurt and Blaine out about, anyways. Small fires danced behind the curtains of the windows, occasional silhouettes of people walking through their houses. Although nobody was outside.

In fact, they hadn't run into a single person on their trip to the castle, yet the signs of life were everywhere. In fact, it almost looked to Kurt and Blaine like an actual town. From the real world. Uh, well, not the real world but from where they were from. Whatever that was. The houses just looked so complex and the streets were actually paved, although slightly slippery with the ice. It didn't look like anything they could imagine the species around here could create.

The trio stood outside of the castle that was so much like Finn's. Were all the castles like that? The only noticeable difference was the icicles hanging off the roof, but those were to be expected in this kind of weather. They walked past the castle gates, eerily aware that there were no guards. No boy chose to comment on how freaky everything was, not wanting to upset the others. The boys strode right up to the castle door, staring at it awkwardly.

Finally, Blaine took a step toward the door, giving it a good knock. It almost looked like nobody was going to answer, and Blaine thought about trying to knock again when the door abruptly opened. A woman popped her head out, her face framed with her straight, dark hair. She had a pretty round face, and was most definitely of some sort of Asian descent.

"Hello," The girl said, smiling. She opened the door more, ushering them inside. They hadn't even realized her odd attire until they viewed her fully in the corridor of the castle. She was wearing an odd, small green hat, resting on the back of her head. There was a little bell at the tip, which jingled when she walked. They matched the bells at the tip of her pointed brown shoes. She had a green shirt which almost looked like it was once a pillowcase, belted at the waist. Her simple brown pants left much to be desired.

Kurt gave Artie a look, which he returned. Her outfit offended Kurt on so many levels he just didn't even want to begin to think about it. She looked like a little kid's idea of an elf. Not like Lord of the Rings or anything like that. More like Santa's little workers. Kurt raised an eyebrow as she smiled at them even more widely. She was _creepy_.

"Hello," she said in that same cheery voice. "I'm Sunshine." Oh, well. Nothing weird about that name.

"I'm Artie," Artie said, extending a hand to her to shake. She looked at it nervously before shaking her head, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We don't touch here." She eyed Artie in Kurt's arms looking visibly offended at the physicality of the action. "You are new?" The boys nodded.

"Yes," Kurt said slowly, eyeing the decorations around the castle. It was overly decorated for... For Christmas? _Really_? Tinsel was spread out everywhere, red and green were blaring at them from every direction. There were giant trees all over the foyer, heavily laden with ornaments and strings of light. Curiously enough there was a menorah resting on a table, two candles burning. Whoever decorated didn't exactly know a lot about Christmas, Kurt didn't doubt.

"Well! You will love it here," she said with that giant smile. "We are kept very safe by our Goddess. There's no need to be afraid." Kurt eyed her unflattering clothes again. Oh, yes there was.

"Do you know if we could meet her?" Artie asked, incredibly interested. He had never exactly totally doubted the stories he had heard. Sure, he always imagined the idea a little far-fetched. Someone so powerful to create a whole border. However, if the chance to meet someone like that came up he sure as hell wasn't going to pass it up. Sunshine looked a little sad, biting her lip.

"No, I'm sorry," Sunshine said, shuffling her feet. "Our Goddess works in mysterious ways. I've been following her directions for all my life but I've never seen her face. But we are always safe, so I can't be upset." Artie nodded in understanding. It made sense whoever she is kept herself well hidden.

"Do you know where she is? How do you get the instructions?" Sunshine tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, and Blaine noticed it was pointed. Well. You don't see that everyday.

"She's here, in the castle. She doesn't leave her room. I think she may just be very ill." Artie nodded.

"It would take a lot out of you to sustain a border like this." Sunshine smiled.

"She really is very amazing. Oh!," Sunshine just seemed to notice Artie was a merman, apparently. "Oh, you poor thing. Your poor tail must be peeling." Artie shrugged.

"Sure, I guess it is a little. But, it's fine. Nothing I can't handle," Artie said in a slightly deeper than normal voice. Kurt rolled his eyes. Artie and his freaking women. Sunshine shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, please," Sunshine said, walking down the corridor and signaling for them to follow. "I'll take you to our pools. There's other merpeople there. Well, mainly merwomen. We don't have a lot of men here," Artie's ears perked up.

"Well, yes, now that I think about it, I really do need to get to those pools." Sunshine nodded and hurried her pace down the hall. Artie urged Kurt to walk faster. "You know.. my tail." Sunshine had a sympathetic look on her face as she stopped outside a door. A large wreath was hung, little red berries on it glimmering in the light.

"It's right in here," Sunshine stated, pointing at the door. "Will you be staying in there tonight? I could find you a water room to sleep in if yo-," Artie cut her off.

"That won't be necessary," Artie said quickly. "I'll just stay in there with the merladies." Sunshine nodded, a blissfully ignorant smile on her face.

"You must miss your people," she said with an understanding nod.

"Yes, terribly," Artie said, his voice laced with false sadness. Kurt scoffed. He just missed his women.

"And you two," Sunshine said, looking at Kurt and Blaine. "Until we can find you permanent residence in the village, you will stay in the castle."

"Well," Blaine began. "We're not exactly looking to live in the village." Sunshine nodded, that smile still plastered all over her tan face.

"I understand. A lot of people like to just stay in the castle. That is fine, too. There's plenty of rooms." Blaine shook his head, wanting to further explain but doubting she would listen. "I'm sorry but I really have to go, I'm suppose to be in the kitchens right now." She widened her smile even more, waving to Kurt, Blaine, and Artie. "It's very nice to have a new addition to the family." And with that she ran off down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

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><p>After getting Artie into the pools, which he was overly ecstatic about, Kurt and Blaine left the room, both feeling awkward. Kurt didn't want to be mad at him, but felt like he wasn't being treated equally. Blaine was sorry for how he acted, but didn't want to say anything and set Kurt off again. Kurt accidentally met Blaine's eyes as they walked down the corridor from the pools, and his heart absolutely melted. Blaine looked legitimately sorry.<p>

"C'mere," Kurt said, extending a hand to Blaine. Blaine smiled, grabbing Kurt's hand and entwining their fingers. It had only been a little while since they had touched last, but it felt like a million years to them both. They couldn't believe they had ever lived without the other's touch. Blaine's thumb was rubbing little circles on Kurt's hand as they fell into step with each other.

"So," Blaine said, still not sure as to how much exactly he could get away with. "What would you want to do?" Kurt smiled a little shyly. He thought for a second about just how _right_ Blaine's hand felt in his. He thought about the feeling of Blaine's hot kisses all over his body. He thought about how easy he was to forgive Blaine just because he didn't want Blaine to feel bad. He thought about how much he really really _reeeeeallly _liked this boy he felt like he had known for his whole life.

"I have an idea," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around Blaine's waist and giving his neck a quick nuzzle. Blaine felt his smile widen to a goofy grin as he wrapped his arms around Kurt, their lips melting together.

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><p>Ahoohoo~ Things are getting awfully steamy in this story -fans self-<br>Just you wait for next chapter ;D


	15. Chapter 15

**A.N.** I didn't read this over for typos because I'm a fearless bastard.

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><p>"What <em>are<em> you two doing?" Sunshine called, her voice thick with distress. There was a crashing sound as the two glasses she was holding fell to the ground. The thick, creamy liquid splashed all over the polished floor.

"Huh?" Kurt asked, ungluing his lips from Blaine's. A little string of spit still connecting their bruised, cherry red lips. Sunshine pointed a shaky finger to Kurt and Blaine, who were clinging to each other, blatantly making out in the hallway, their kiss from earlier getting a little carried away. Kurt giggled a little, squirming out of Blaine's arms.

"Y-Y-You," Sunshine stuttered, shaking her head, the ridiculous bell at the tip of her hat jingling. Kurt squealed when Blaine grabbed him again, pressing wet kisses all over Kurt's neck. Kurt couldn't stop laughing, partially from the tickling sensation all over his neck, and partially from the shocked expression on Sunshine's face. "Stop!" Sunshine said, finally regaining her composure.

"Why?" Kurt asked, tangling a hand in Blaine's hair. Sunshine's eyes got wider, if that were possible.

"G-Germs!" She finally yelled, shaking her head. Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look, both trying to stifle laughs. "Aren't you afraid of germs?" Sunshine asked in distress.

"Of course not," Kurt said, his voice quivering a little as he tried to hold back laughter. "Germs are everywhere. It's stupid to worry about them." Sunshine shook her head.

"Not here. Our Goddess makes sure the temperatures are cold, so the germs can't survive. Cleanliness is a law," she looked down at the splattered liquid sadly. "Oh no," she said, pouting. "I'm sorry I spilled your drinks. I thought you would be cold after being outside, and they would warm you up."

"Oh," Kurt said, swatting Blaine's wandering hands away. "Here, we can help you clean up," Blaine pouted.

"But Kurt," Blaine whined, and Kurt shushed him. Sunshine shook her head.

"Oh no, you two have to be crawling with each other's germs. You can hit the baths, I'll clean this up," Sunshine visibly shuddered. "I know I would want to immediately sanitize if I had done that." Kurt shook his head, not understanding.

"If you keep yourself so clean and stay away from germs, when you finally come into contact with them you'll get really, really sick," Kurt tried to explain. Sunshine shook her head, a blissfully ignorant smile on her lips.

"Oh, no. Our Goddess takes care of any major germs. We don't get sick here," Sunshine smiled creepily, making Kurt and Blaine's insides squirm.

"Ahem," Kurt cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "I think we'll find a room," Kurt said with a small smile, which Blaine returned. Sunshine looked at them, confused.

"We have enough rooms for you to each have your own." Kurt and Blaine shared a look.

"That won't be necessary," Blaine said quickly. Kurt nodded in agreement.

"We would like to share, uh, we're friends, you see."

"Best friends," Blaine agreed. Sunshine smiled in understanding.

"There should be a room with two beds upstairs," Sunshine said. "It has a pretty big bathroom, so you don't have to use the same sink or anything gross like that." Kurt and Blaine smiled, nodding their thanks before making a beeline for the stairway by the doors. As soon as they turned a corner and were out of Sunshine's sight, they fused seamlessly together.

Getting up the marble stairs proved slightly difficult, as neither of them wanted to let go of the other to actually look where they were going. Once Kurt tripped while trying to step up a stair backwards and fell on his butt they decided to save it for the bedroom, strictly for safety reasons. Things were much better organized inside this castle than Finn's, and it didn't take them long to find the bedroom.

"Oh, wow," Kurt said, looking around the room. It was furnished nicely, even though it had that stupid Christmas theme. The room was incredibly warm and comfortable thanks to a crackling fire on a nice brick fireplace. Two stockings were hanging off a counter on top of the fireplace. When Kurt and Blaine walked in, it immediately became embroidered with curly, golden script, each reading one of their names.

Kurt shut the door behind them, locking it. A nice-smelling fresh wreath hung on the inside of the door, and even though it wasn't December Kurt felt himself falling into the Christmas spirit. A large tree was in a corner, heavily laden with ornaments and tinsel. Fake icicles hung from the door frame, little snowmen figurines decorating every bit of surface.

"Surprisingly nice," Blaine said against the back of Kurt's neck, making Kurt shiver. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's front, running his hands over the boy's chest and stomach. Blaine smiled, pressing small kisses to the back of Kurt's neck. Kurt sighed happily, crooking his neck to the left to give Blaine more access.

It was starting to get uncomfortably hot in the warm jacket, and Blaine started to unzip Kurt's as if reading the boy's mind. Kurt shrugged it off his shoulders, not paying much attention to where it landed. Blaine quickly slipped his off before winding his arms around Kurt again. Kurt sighed at the feeling of Blaine flush against his back.

Kurt could feel himself growing hard as Blaine sucked a few dark spots into the side of his neck. He knew he should probably tell Blaine he wasn't too into hickeys. He didn't want Blaine to hurt his fabulous skin, but it just felt so good he couldn't bring himself to say anything other than a strangled moan. Blaine raked his teeth over the spot of sensitized flesh, earning him a whimper from Kurt.

"Mmmm, Blaine," Kurt said, turning his head to the side and capturing Blaine's lips in a kiss. "D-Do you want to," Kurt breathed against Blaine's lips. He felt incredibly awkward, having never done anything like this before. Kurt let his voice trail off as Blaine kissed his lips again, sweet and chaste.

"We have all the time in the world," Blaine replied, his breath chilling Kurt's wet lips. "No need to rush it." Kurt nodded, his flush spreading across his face.

A few minutes later Kurt and Blaine finally made it to the bathroom. Kurt was leaning against the counter with twin sinks, watching Blaine fill one of the two tubs. They were both incredibly large, as the castle seemed to value cleanliness. There was a whole range of controls on the edge, which Blaine was fiddling with.

"Hmm," Blaine said, regarding the list of bubble scents. "Vanilla Lavender or Fresh Linen or Strawberry?" Blaine asked, regarding the first few scents. Kurt thought for a moment.

"Vanilla Lavender," Kurt said, thinking about a cream he had back home scented like that. Blaine pressed a few more buttons, setting the temperature and, for some reason, the number of times the water was to be filtered along with other odd things.

"Done," Blaine said, standing up. There was a rushing water sound as the large bath filled with the bubbly water. Kurt smiled, stepping over to Blaine and wrapping his arms around the boy in a sweet hug. Blaine tightened his hold on Kurt, humming an odd tune into Kurt's ear. Kurt smiled at the intimacy of the action, swaying from side to side with Blaine as he hummed.

Blaine's lips ghosted over Kurt's cheek, pressing a small kiss to the burning flesh. Kurt would have felt a little silly anywhere else, slow dancing to no music, but Blaine just had a knack for making everything feel natural. Blaine took a step back, gently leading Kurt into doing a little twirl before returning to Blaine's arms.

The scent of vanilla and lavender filled the air as the tub finished filling, cutting their impromptu slow dance short. Blaine quickly dimmed the lights in the beautiful bathroom. He didn't know a lot about romance but he knew a darker room was better than a well lit one. He turned back to Kurt, who was surprisingly direct when tugging off Blaine's shirt. Blaine smiled, helping Kurt shimmy out of his own before setting to work on undoing Kurt's pants.

Kurt was already half-hard at seeing Blaine so scantily clad, and he still wasn't over their heated kisses from earlier. Feeling Blaine's hands down there did nothing but increase Kurt's hardness, a fact not missed by Blaine. Kurt quickly moved his hands to Blaine's own pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them, letting his hands linger longer than necessary.

The boys stepped out of their pants, slipping each other out of their boxers. Kurt had to kick his leg a little to get them off as he and Blaine worked their way over to the scented bath, never leaving each other's arms. Their kisses weren't depraved and frantic, but rather passionate and deep. They had plenty of time. They didn't need to rush anything, or worry about being overheard. That fact alone was more comforting than anything else.

Kurt's lips were still moving fluidly against Blaine's, his hands resting on Blaine's neck. Blaine's hands were rubbing up and down on Kurt's bare back, making him shiver. Just the thought of what they were going to do made Kurt's hard-on grow to just about as big as he was going to get. Kurt could feel Blaine's pressing against his upper thigh, making him blush.

The back of Kurt's legs hit the edge of the tub, and he lifted a leg, clinging to Blaine for support as he stepped back into it. _Oh,_ the water was so warm and soothing. Kurt got his other leg in, the warm water rising to above his knees. Blaine stepped in carefully, finally removing his lips from Kurt's. Kurt and Blaine gazed into each other's eyes for a second, small smiles on their faces.

Kurt pressed another light kiss to Blaine's lips before carefully laying down in the tub, his back resting against the far edge. The warm water raised to his mid-chest, making him shudder. It felt so good, especially against the hardness between his legs. Kurt had to look away, blushing as Blaine stood in the water, his erection clearly visible in the dim lighting. Blaine smiled at Kurt's shyness.

"Kurt," he said, carefully dropping to his knees in the warm water. Kurt only looked once he was sure Blaine's erection was hidden under the water. The flush still blaring on his face, clearly visible even in the dim room. "You can look if you want," Blaine said, making Kurt look away again, biting his lip. Blaine's smile widened. Kurt really was too cute. Blaine gave Kurt a minute to sum up to courage to look into Blaine's eyes.

"You're so beautiful," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around Blaine's neck and pulling Blaine to lay on top of him. Kurt groaned loudly as Blaine's cock rubbed against his. Kurt dug his nails into Blaine's back.

"Oh god, Kurt," Blaine said, shivering. He wanted to thrust against Kurt again, but didn't know how much Kurt would like that. "D-Do you-...?" Blaine asked, letting his voice trail off. He needed Kurt's confirmation before continuing. He couldn't force Kurt into doing anything he didn't want to.

"_Again_," Kurt groaned, throwing his head back. Blaine rutted against Kurt again, their hard cocks rubbing together. Blaine thrust again, attaching his lips to Kurt's exposed throat. The skin there was wet with the water, taut against the protruding tendons. Blaine nipped and sucked, building a steady rhythm with his thrusts. Kurt moaned lowly, Blaine feeling the vibrations directly through Kurt's throat, turning him on even more if that were possible.

Kurt wrapped his long legs around Blaine's hips, thrusting up in tune to Blaine's steady rhythm. The soapy water provided sufficient lubrication as they bucked their hips together. Their chests rubbed together as they moved, and they could feel each other's heartbeat through their skin. The only sound in the air was their own rugged breathing, the slosh of the water, and their occasional moan.

"Blaine," Kurt whimpered, feeling the tight heat coiling in his lower stomach. His orgasm was building up deep in his stomach, his cock throbbing against Blaine's. A little drop of sweat beaded at Blaine's temple, slowly sliding down the side of his face, coming to a rest on his jaw. Kurt leaned slightly forward, planting a kiss on Blaine's jaw before licking up the droplet.

Blaine gave a particularly sharp thrust at the action, which Kurt returned, their pace becoming a little frantic. Little shots of pleasure rippled through Kurt each time their hard-ons rubbed, making his teeth chatter. His arms quivered as he dug his nails into Blaine's back, and he could feel little drops of blood blooming at the intrusion but he couldn't bring himself to care because, _oh._

Their thrusts became more and more frantic and they ground their erections against each other's harshly. Kurt's heart rate increased, right alongside Blaine's, as everything just became too much and he started shaking uncontrollably in Blaine's arms, experiencing those few seconds of pure bliss that accompany orgasm. Blaine came right alongside Kurt, thrusting against him once, twice, three more times milking them throughout their orgasm.

Blaine collapsed against Kurt, unable to hold himself up anymore, his orgasm lasting for-freaking-ever. Kurt held Blaine close, their heart beats slowly returning back to normal. Some of the water had sloshed out of the tub and most of the bubbles had dispersed but hell if either boy cared. Kurt's face was buried in Blaine's damp locks, Blaine's head resting against his chest, listening to Kurt's heartbeat. Their legs were tangled together and Kurt could faintly see little lines of blood running down Blaine's back, starting at the tears from Kurt's nails.

Once the water started getting a little cold both boys reluctantly stood and carefully got out. The floor was a little slippery but they managed to make it across the bathroom and wrap themselves in soft towels. Stumbling slightly they made it back to the bedroom, collapsing on one of the beds. As Blaine pulled an exhausted Kurt into his arms, he smelled the soft scent of vanilla and lavender, and for the first time in a really long time he thought everything was going to be alright.

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><p>...I'm gonna go take a cold shower.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

**A.N. **Ugh. First off, I'm really sorry guys. I just wasn't feeling it tonight. I really like this one update a day streak I've been on, and you guys seem to like whatever I put out, so I hope this is okay. I feel especially bad since last chapter was so awesome :c  
>On a brighter note, I was totally blown away by all the emails I got from ff about this story. I felt so smug. Who knew hawt Klaine sex was the key to more story attention~<p>

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><p>That morning, Kurt and Blaine were awoken by a rapping on their door. Kurt sat up groggily, untangling himself from Blaine's limbs, glaring at the door. There were a few more knocks before he finally got up. He had to pull the towel he had fallen asleep wearing out from under Blaine, it having slid off his hips sometime last night. He stumbled to the door, his mind still foggy from sleep. The only light in the dim room was the still burning fire.<p>

"Wha-?" Kurt asked, opening the door. His voice failed him upon seeing who was at the other side. Sunshine. Again. Only this time, she was pushing a wheeled bathtub, inside residing a very distressed looking Artie. She smiled brightly, flashing Kurt her bright teeth.

"Artie wanted to visit you!" Sunshine said in that stupid, cheery voice. It was far too early in Kurt's mind to be that perky. Besides, why would Artie want to visit _them_? He had pools full of merwomen waiting for him downstairs. Shouldn't this be his heaven? Sunshine wheeled in the tub, careful so no water would slosh out.

"Hey, guys," Artie said, slumping in the water. Blaine didn't say anything, as he had fallen right back asleep, an arm thrown over his face. Kurt raised an eyebrow at Artie.

"Hello," Kurt said, unsure. He was still clad in only a towel and maybe at another time he would of felt exposed, but he couldn't care less right now. All he wanted to do was snuggle up next to Blaine and fall right back asleep.

"Uh, thanks, Sunshine," Artie said, and Sunshine shrugged.

"It was nothing!" She exclaimed, turning to leave. She shut the door behind her and Kurt waited a second before questioning Artie.

"What happened?" Kurt said, sitting on his and Blaine's bed with his legs crossed. Artie shrugged, sifting around in the water uncomfortably.

"Those merwomen are not normal," he finally said, visibly shuddering. Kurt wanted to laugh. No one he had met yet could possibly be classified as normal. Not even close.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, sounding amused. Artie shook his head a little.

"Honestly, I have a chemical burn in the worst possible place, and I really don't want to talk about it," Artie said sadly, drooping his shoulders.

"I thought they didn't touch," Kurt said, remembering how disgusted Sunshine was about germs.

"Oh, they don't," Artie said, shuddering more. "Usually. Apparently they will on certain terms and conditions."

"Huh?" Kurt asked, confused. Artie shook his head.

"Never mind, you're too innocent to know," Artie said, sounding exasperated. "We just need to get out of here."

"How?" Kurt asked. How exactly did they get there, anyways? He remembered falling for a very long time. Would they have to somehow get all the way back up to where they fell from? That idea wasn't very practical.

"We would have to find this Goddess woman and have her get us out of here. I don't know how else you could possibly leave a border." Kurt shook his head.

"I don't see how we could," Kurt said honestly. "Sunshine says she lives in the castle, but castles are _huge_. Finn wasn't the smartest man in the world, sure, but he lived in his probably his entire life. And he couldn't even find his way around half the time. His advisers even seemed to have a lot of trouble, and they were normal. Almost." Kurt added, as an afterthought.

"You're right," Artie said, sounding disappointed. "But, dammit, we have to try. I can't stay here, Kurt. You don't understand. Those merwomen are crazy. I miss my mergirls." Kurt ignored Artie's stupid habit of adding mer in front of any word describing a person and thought for a second. It was a long shot they would be able to find her, wherever she was. But if there was a force in the world stronger than Artie's need to be around his ladies, er, _mer_ladies, Kurt had yet to know about it. Perhaps it was a good thing the merwomen here weren't up to Artie's impeccable standards.

"Where would we start looking?" Kurt asked, resting his chin in his hand, his elbow resting on his crossed legs. Artie shrugged, repositioning himself in the tub. He didn't like this place at all. It was nice to be safe but the merwomen were freaky and there wasn't any open water. He felt caged, for good reason, in the tub.

"I'm not sure," Artie replied honestly. How could they find her? Who would kno- oh. Wait. "Sunshine!" Artie exclaimed excitely.

"Where?" Kurt asked, jumping slightly and looking around for that creepy grin and stupid outfit.

"No, not here, sadly," Artie said, remembering what Sunshine had said yesterday. She got her orders directly from the Goddess. Who never left her room. They would just have Sunshine lead them there and break the door down if they had to. He had to get out of here. "She knows where the Goddess is, she said she gets orders from her." Kurt perked up.

"Oh, that's right!" He exclaimed. Sure, it was nice to be in a castle and be able to bathe freely and not have to worry about running into horrible creatures, but Kurt felt antsy. This castle wasn't nearly as enjoyable as Finn's. And his heart hurt every time he thought about poor Sam. The longer they dwindled away in here the worse things got out there.

"Do you two have to talk _so_ loud?" Blaine groaned, sitting up in the comfortable bed. He yawned, running a hand through his unruly hair. He had only caught bits and pieces of Artie and Kurt's conversation, and didn't really know what they were talking about. The noise added to the lack of Kurt's warm body in his arms was enough to wake him up.

"I'm sorry, Blaine," Kurt said with a little smile, remembering yesterday. Blaine smiled back, a little sheepishly. Artie made a loud noise of disgust.

"Ew," Artie said with a dramatic gagging sound. "No eyefucking around the merman, please." Blaine looked at Artie, skeptically.

"Don't be pissy just because you can't get any," Kurt said with a small smile. Artie scoffed.

"It's not that," Artie said quickly. He pointed from Kurt to Blaine, obviously disgusted. "It's gross because you both have legs." Kurt and Blaine shared a look. Did Artie mean because they both had wangs? Artie had never been homophobic before.

"You mean 'cause we're gay?" Blaine asked, interested. Artie shook his head.

"No, dude. I just get grossed out when I imagine two people with _legs_ doing it. It's like, how do you even, like, I just don't even know." Artie shook his head, trying to dismiss the train of thought.

"You were never grossed out before," Kurt pointed out.

"It was _funny_, then," Artie said, shaking his head. "It's only funny when you're not actually doing it. Then it just gets gross and confusing." It was funny, but that was exactly how Kurt thought about mermaid sex.

"Wait," Blaine said, confusion on his face. "How exactly do two mer-," Kurt quickly cut him off.

"Blaine, no!" Kurt said in distress, turning to look at Blaine.

"But, Kurt, seriously. I mean do they even have," Kurt shook his head, covering his ears with his hands.

"I would like to have at least a shred of innocence left once this is all over, Blaine!" Artie laughed.

"Not if you two keep doing what you're doing," Artie began, but then made a disgusted face. "Oh god, I grossed myself out."

By the end of the discussion, they were all thoroughly grossed out. Artie tried to touch upon the subject of merperson sex, but it was so confusing. Blaine tried to inform Artie a little bit about human sex, which made Kurt's face burn. Artie seemed just as confused, shaking his head and looking from his tail to the boy's legs throughout the explanation. When all was said and done they had accomplished absolutely nothing.

"Wait, so, who lays the eggs?" Artie asked as an afterthought as they finished up their conversation.

"Nobody," Kurt said, examining himself in the mirror. He and Blaine had changed out of their towels, and Kurt thought for a second. They really had changed a lot since the start of this all. Beforehand he would of never changed in front of anybody by will. Now he really didn't care too much. If anything he took a little bit longer to change than necessary, being a little bit of a tease for Blaine. It's weird how fast everything could change.

"You are all so weird," Artie said, looking confused. Kurt started pushing Artie's wheeled tub, it being surprisingly light. Blaine shut the door behind them, as they set off to try and find Sunshine. "What's the point of doing it if there's no eggs involved?" Kurt shrugged.

"I mean, I guess there kind of are. I mean, you said things get started when la-_ mer_ladies release their eggs, right?" Kurt asked.

"More or less," Artie said, shrugging.

"That's kind of how humans finish," Blaine said carefully, not really sure how to describe it.

"You see, that right there makes no sense," Artie said, keeping his eyes peeled for Sunshine. Seriously. She always seemed to show up at the worst possible times. Where was she when you actually needed her?

"Well, yesterday she said she was going to the kitchens. Maybe she's still there?"

"I dunno," Artie said. Yesterday when Sunshine saved him from the freaky merwomen she had been cleaning up the poolside. "They seem to rotate around jobs a whole lot. She seems to especially not like messes, though, so," Artie reached over, knocking a Santa figurine off a table as Kurt wheeled him by. Kurt stopped abruptly, shocked at Artie's action. Some water sloshed out of Artie's tub, soaking the floor in front of them.

"Good thinking," Blaine said to them. He didn't really see anything he could mess up, so he settled for pulling some tinsel off a nearby tree and letting it fall slowly to the ground. How diabolical. The results were almost instantaneous. There was a clicking noise, Sunshine's shoes on the marble floor as she hurried over, pushing a cart full of what looked like cleaning implements.

"Oh, hello you!" Sunshine said brightly upon seeing them. Wow. If they had known just making a mess would work they would have done that a lot sooner.

"Uh, hi," Kurt said awkwardly. How exactly was he suppose to phrase his question?

"Where do you get your orders from the Goddess?" Artie asked bluntly, leaning over the side of his tub to better examine her. Sunshine paused for a minute before replying, getting a dustpan and broom to sweep up some of the broken glass.

"I don't know if I should be giving out where she resides," Sunshine said eventually. She didn't seem too positive on her answer, which the boys took as a good sign. It meant they could probably sway her decision.

"Does anyone else know?" Blaine asked quickly. If Sunshine got mad at their questioning, which they thought was unlikely, but still, at least they would have a backup person to go to. Sunshine thought for a moment.

"I don't think anyone else knows but my friend," Sunshine said, chewing on her bottom lip. She emptied the full dustpan into a bag before bending back over to resume her sweeping. "The Goddess doesn't like being disturbed a lot, you see."

"Right, right," Kurt said, nodding. Sunshine smiled at him, glad he understood the hard life her Goddess had. "But we have something for her," Kurt lied. The other boys picked up on it quickly.

"Uh, yeah, that's actually why we're here," Artie said, and Blaine nodded vigorously in confirmation. Sunshine looked partially like she believed, but was understandably cautious.

"Well, I guess that would make sense why you're all so weird," Sunshine said. "And we never really get visitors, now that I think about it. But, still. I don't know if she's feeling up to being disturbed."

"Can't you check with her?" Blaine asked as Sunshine emptied her dustpan again, grabbing a towel to mop up Artie's spilled water.

"I guess that's possible," Sunshine said, tucking a lock of hair behind her pointy ears. "I would have to ask my friend if he would come with me. I can't get into her room on my own." It made sense the Goddess's room had some security, the boys supposed.

"It's pretty important," Artie said slowly, watching Sunshine for a reaction. "I'm sure she would be pretty happy that you brought us to her. She might even reward you." Artie didn't miss how Sunshine's arm momentarily stopped rubbing the towel on the ground. She seemed to think things over for a second.

"You think?" She finally asked.

"Yes," Kurt agreed. "It's going to make her so happy!" Sunshine nodded a little, putting the wet towel in the bag alongside all the broken glass.

"I like when she's happy," Sunshine said finally.

"Then you should bring us to your friend so we can see her," Blaine said, making Sunshine stop for a moment. After a heart wrenching moment when things could go either way, Sunshine nodded.

"I'll bring you to him," she finally said.

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><p>AHEM, if you've figured out who the Goddess is, keep it to yourself D: If you have a super awesome guess you can just message me, since I don't want the surprise ruined in the reviews. I kind of tried to make it so when you realize who it is you're just like OH, DUH~<br>Anyways you find out next chapter, yayy~  
>This last bit is actually kind of <strong>important.<strong> (You can tell from the bold text.)  
>You'll remember in the beginning of the story, when I was listing Blaine's friends, when I didn't really know where this story was going besides the basic outlines, I said he's friends with Wes, David, Nick, and Thad or some shit like that. Back then I didn't know I wanted to include the WarbleDorbals in the story. I can either go back and change it so it just says Wes and David and include the Warbmonies, or I can leave it how it is and just not include them. If I don't get any responses, like the last time I asked a plot question, I will be<em> hiding under your fucking bed<em>. Don't test me. Ahem, so, Wardaddies or not, please vote :3 Sorry this note got so long!  
>I love each and every one of you!* Thanks for reading! :3<p>

*Kidding. I hate you guys.


	17. Chapter 17

I swear to god if anyone ever questions my commitment to this story they are going to be the victim of an impromptu castration. I am so exhausted and dead, today was a really sucky day. Thank god I am tough. Like ze lion.  
>Did I read this chap over for typos? Not even a <em>little<em>.

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><p>Sunshine led them slowly through the castle, occasionally stopping to mop up this or straighten up that. She seemed a little preoccupied with thought, but the boys were confident she wouldn't change her mind now. She seemed like she knew the castle like the back of her hand, which was a good thing. It was definitely as large as Finn's, if not larger with all the pathways she took.<p>

They turned down another hall, and all the colors were painful to look at. This wing of the castle was decorated with about ten times more things than anywhere else they had seen so far. Lights and bulbs were strung up all over the ceiling, little cut out paper snowflakes dangling from the blinking mess.

"Sick," Artie said, scooting to the way edge of his tub. A few green and red sparkles drifted down from the ceiling, landing in the water.

"Huh?" Sunshine said from a few feet in front of them, leading the way.

"It's, uh, nice," Blaine said, figuring it was best to keep Sunshine happy for now, since she was helping them so much. She smiled widely, obviously proud.

"Yes, well, this is the worker's wing. The Goddess asked us to decorate, she said it would make her happy. We have to be prepared in case she leaves her room."

"Oh," Kurt said, looking around at all the obnoxious decorations. He looked down to Artie. "I didn't know you guys celebrated Christmas."

"Celebrate what now?" Artie asked, still moving around in his tub to avoid the floating glitter.

"Well, you know," Kurt said, motioning around the room. "These are all Christmas decorations. We celebrate that back home."

"Neeeeeever heard of it," Artie said, splashing the sparkles to the other side of the tub.

"Sunshine, have you?" Kurt asked, confused. She thought for a minute.

"I think I have before," Sunshine said, thinking back to her conversations with the Goddess. "I think it was something she mentioned when she gave us the things to decorate with." This was pretty interesting information.

Kurt had taken to thinking about the world as divided into two. One, his home, where his dad and Mercedes and his home was. And the other, where Artie and Finn and all these castles were. So far, only little things had seeped from one world to the other. He wouldn't have expected something as big as a whole holiday to seep over. This really begged the question: Had the Goddess ever been to World One? Kurt's world?

"Sunshine," Kurt asked carefully, still shocked at the realization. "Where did you live before you lived here?" Sunshine seemed to be caught off guard by the question, humming thoughtfully as his she had to think hard to remember.

"That's a good question," Sunshine finally said. The boys waited for her to say something else, but she never did, as if she had answered the question.

"Well?" Blaine finally asked, interested in this line of thought. He didn't really know what Kurt was getting at with his questions, but Blaine could get a rough idea. Kurt was probably trying to learn more about the background of the Goddess, and Sunshine seemed to be her biggest fan.

"I don't really remember," Sunshine said with a small laugh. "That was all a really really long time ago." Something about her tone led the boys to believe she was keeping something to herself. Her expression didn't show it, but something about the way her laugh sounded so forced hinted at it.

"Do you know when the Goddess created the border?" Artie tried. He doubted Sunshine knew, or would even tell them if she did, but he figured it was worth a shot.

"I don't know," Sunshine said, and Artie couldn't tell from her tone whether she was being serious or not. He had always been pretty good at reading between the lines, but Sunshine was really good at disguising her true feelings. She was so natural about it Artie didn't even think she knew what she was doing. "But I think my friend might've been there when she made it." Oh, wow.

"When can we meet him?" Kurt asked immediately. He had a lot of questions for this friend of hers.

"Right now," Sunshine said, stopping outside a door. It had a little light up Santa flashing against the dark oak of the door, not really looking too out of place. She rapped on the door a few times, and there was a little shuffling inside. A male voice called that he would be there in just a second. The door opened slowly, and Sunshine ran inside, whispering harshly to her friend before the boys could get a good look at him. Kurt could have sworn he saw a splash of dark hair, but he couldn't be sure.

"I'm sure that'll be okay," the male said, and he had a pretty voice. Almost like a singer. It made sense Sunshine would want to confirm her actions were okay with her friend first, though. Sunshine came back out, the stupid bell on her hat and shoes jingling as she walked. Right behind her walked out who could be none other than her friend.

He had curly hair, although it didn't look curly in the same sense as Blaine's. Where Blaine's hair had loose curls and was dark, her friend's had tight curls, styled with shiny gel. Besides that, he looked to be older than any of them. Not old old, maybe a little younger than Kurt's dad. Although, everyone they had met so far had looked so young, Kurt couldn't even imagine how old you would have to be to look like an average adult in this world.

"This is my friend," Sunshine said with a smile. "His name is William."

Once they were all introduced, William, or what he told them to call him, Will didn't have the same irrational fear of germs Sunshine harbored. He seemed just fine with shaking hands with the boys, and didn't seem to mind bringing them to see the Goddess at all. All and all they found themselves liking him a whole lot more than they liked Sunshine. Maybe it was because Kurt was starved of paternal attention, but he found himself wishing this guy could start travelling with him, Blaine and Artie too.

"So, you're pretty good friends with her?" Blaine asked as Will led them to the Goddess's room.

"Oh, yeah," Will said with a small smile on his face. "We go way back." Will wasn't wearing the ridiculous outfit Sunshine was clad in, but rather regular clothes. Artie found this interesting, as he had seen plenty of other workers wearing the exact same stupid outfit around the castle. Especially in the pools, where the pH levels were tested every half hour and were constantly being netted out. In fact, Will was the first person any of them had seen inside the castle wearing regular clothes. He looked almost like he was plucked right off the streets of Kurt's World One.

"Will she be annoyed at us bothering her?" Artie asked, actually getting excited about finally meeting her.

"No, I don't think she would. Nobody ever really visits her but me, it's like they're scared of her or something," Will laughed a little, shaking his head at the thought. Sunshine looked at him skeptically. She knew Will had known her Goddess longer than she had, but she still didn't like how casual he was about everything. Sunshine would never invade her privacy by just going into her room like how Will always did. He saw Goddess more as a friend, which Sunshine found unacceptable. Of course, she kept her opinions to herself. She couldn't upset her Goddess, or anyone close to her.

"But what if she's busy?" Sunshine asked. She had expected Will to say the boys visiting her Goddess wasn't a good idea, and she was fast backtracking. She didn't want to be mean and deny them the joy of seeing her Goddess, but she had never even seen her. Sunshine had dedicated her life to her Goddess. Why should these people who hadn't even known about her a few days ago be allowed in her room?

"I'm sure she's just cleaning," Will said, dismissing Sunshine's concerns. Sunshine thought fast.

"But she always told me it's very important to put every ounce of concentration into making sure the job is done right," Sunshine said quickly.

"I'm sure it's no problem," Will stated, leading them down a turn in the hall. This area was unfamiliar and a bit more deserted, less Christmas decorations adorned the walls. Which was most definitely a good thing, in Kurt's opinion.

Things were starting to look more like Finn's castle now, regular paintings adorning some walls. They turned a few more corners, and almost all decorations were gone. Occasional balls of tinsel would blow by the floor, looking humorously like tumbleweeds. There were a few abstract paintings, a few of landscapes, a very elaborate, large building, a dark one of a seaside boy holding a balloon.

"This is an awfully large castle," Kurt mentioned, kicking at the seizing up wheels on Artie's tub.

"It really is," Will agreed. "I guess that's a good thing. It's the safest place there is. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not," Will added this last sentence almost as if it were an afterthought. It made Sunshine's blood boil, but of course she hid it. She couldn't believe they were tromping all over her Goddess's privacy, or second guessing her choices.

"I think I need to get down to the pools to chlorinate the water," Sunshine said with a wide smile.

"Oh, alright," Will said. "Are you sure you don't want to go see her with us? I'm sure the pools will be fine for a few more hours." He already knew what Sunshine's answer would be, but he decided it would be nice to ask anyways.

"Oh, no," Sunshine said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't want anyone getting sick," she flashed them all a wide smile before turning off, heading towards her room.

"I thought she said there were no germs here," Artie said as he watched Sunshine hurry off.

"I dunno, she's weird," Blaine said only once he was positive she was out of earshot.

"You've got that right," Will said with raised eyebrows. "She's a sweetheart, but sometimes I wonder about her." They were mainly silence for the rest of their journey. Eventually Will stopped them, some water sloshing out of Artie's tub with how abruptly Kurt jerked it still.

"This is?" Artie asked with a raised eyebrow. He would be lying if he said it was anything like how he was expecting. If he had the ability to create worlds he would make his main place of residence_ pimped the fuck out. _You know, half fresh half salt water pools everywhere, all going about fifty feet under, cement lining. It would be niceeeeee. He smiled a little at the thought.

"She doesn't like anything too elaborate," Will explained, knocking on the worn door. Instead of the dark oak of the other doors lining the hall, all of which looked unused, her's was dull down, all the varnish somehow gone.

"Helllo?" A kind, female voice asked. It was slightly soft-spoken and very maternal sounding. It was just _there_, almost like when Quinn announced the lottery winners. Somehow in your head, but at the same time surrounding the air.

"Hey," Will said out loud, smiling at the door. His voice had gone a little deeper, and Kurt smiled to himself. Will was obviously smitten.

"Oh, hi, Will, just a minute," there was a clanking sound from the other side of the door, as if she were carefully putting bottles on a counter. She must have been cleaning, Sunshine said she did that a lot.

"Heh, yeah," Will said, rubbing at the back of his neck with his hand. He had a small blush forming on his face and Kurt could just melt. He absolutely loved relationships. He would get these two together if it were the last thing he did. Will seemed to just now realize Kurt, Blaine and Artie were watching him with amused expressions. "Ahem, uh, I've got some friends with me, they would like to see you."

"Oooh, that's great," the woman said, sounding excited. There were louder clanking noises, then a small thud and a yelp of pain.

"Are you okay?" Will asked quickly.

"Oh, yeah yeah," she said, sounding embarrassed. "Alright," she sounded closer to the door. The handle jiggled a little, and she slowly opened the door, peeking out from the inside with a large flush on her face. "Hello, Will," she said, her eyes glued to him. She didn't even seem to notice Kurt, Blaine and Artie standing behind him, peeking around Will to try and get a better view.

She really wasn't what any of them were expecting. Her dark red hair was shoulder length, her bangs looping over attractively. Her eyes were the same reddish brown shade, standing out against her extremely pale skin. She wasn't wearing the stupid elf outfit, yet what she wore made Kurt cringe just as much. She wore a light blue cover, tied at her neck like she was fucking Robin Hood. Underneath she wore a pastel yellow dress, which looked more like an oversized pillowcase than anything, adorned with a giant green bow. She had on a chunky necklace, small matching earrings dangling from her ears. Kurt was basically shaking. She had such beautiful eyes, if she only wore a deeper red dress she would have looked _fabulous_. If only the rest of the world saw things through his eyes. Ugh.

She seemed just fine with Will pulling her in for a quick hug, which really shocked the boys. Sunshine had made her out to be some crazy clean freak who was petrified of germs. She had a white rag in her hand, and when her eyes fell on the door she made an odd squeaking noise, before quickly shutting it. She ran the rag over the door again and again.

"Oh, my, this is embarrassing," she said in that soft-spoken voice. "It really got dusty... I should of cleaned it ages ago." Alright, so maybe she kind of was a clean freak. Still, though. Will looked uncomfortable. "Oh, it's so filthy out here I just can't believe it.."

"Why don't we go back inside your room?" He said quickly. She took a look around the hallway before swallowing hard. She nodded.

"I-I think that's best," she said with a small smile. Will let her finish dusting down the well-worn door before she finally allowed it to be opened. She ushered them inside quickly, promising to be right back with them before quickly stepping back into the hall. Will quickly looked to them.

"Um," he began, not really sure how to phrase this. "Emma has always had a small problem with, well, dirty things. Germs. Things like that. She's getting a lot better since I've been seeing her but for awhile there, well..." Will let his voice trail off, not wanting to embarrass Emma, but still not wanting to leave the boys open to be shocked by her behavior.

"I understand," Kurt said, thinking back to how Sunshine was. That girl had a sixth sense for when a mess occurred. In fact, Kurt would have thought Sunshine would be a bit more excited about seeing the Goddess, or Emma, as it was pretty silly to think of her as a Goddess now that they had seen how normal she was, then she was. It was almost like Sunshine was looking for an excuse to leave. Huh, weird.

"Yeah, it's fine," Blaine agreed, nodding. Will smiled softly at them.

"That's good," he said. "I better go drag her back in here, she's probably doing a small cleaning frenzy of the hallway." The boys nodded in understanding as Will opened the door. The hallway was empty.

"Maybe she rounded a corner?" Artie suggested, leaning out of his tub to get a better view of the hall.

"T-There's scuff marks from your shoes right over there, though," Will said, pointing to a small black spot on the floor. "There's no way she would have missed that," Will's voice sounded tight and restricted as he gave the large hallway another look over. He swallowed a little before running off, back from where they came. "I've got to find her!" He yelled as he ran, rounding a corner and going out of sight in record time.

The boys all shared a look, the same shocked expression played out on all of their faces. This can't be good.

* * *

><p>Yayyy, the Goddess is now known. I seriously amused myself with reading all your guesses, sometimes I think you guys should just write the story. Only one person who told me their guess got it right, although I'm sure a few silent fans already knew. :3 Congrats, Marie Ella. I don't care if that's not your real name. It's real to me, dammit. *pounds fist on desk for good measure*<p>

Ahem, also, Warbies. I see you guys want them, so yeah, sweet, I'll get them all up in this bitch. Although I have some conflicting ideas. Korrigan seemed to really want them, and we all know how much I hate her. It would really suck if I had to make her happy, but for the sake of my story, it might just have to happen. D: Besides that little snag I'm all for the idea.  
>I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh, yeah, story length. I don't want this to turn into one of those disgusting, whored out stories with 2K reviews and a million dried up words. I kind of want my story to have meaning, however lame that is. I have their goal in mind and I know exactly how they're going to get there, (holy shit I just used all three forms of there in half a sentence), but we can always have some fun along the way ;D<br>That being said, how long would you like to see the story? I can wrap things up quickly or slowly, however you guys want. This story is more your's than mine. Not that I _like_ you guys or anything. Sick. Dude. Cooties. *gags* *dies*


	18. Chapter 18

"Oooh my god," Will said, pacing around the hallway with his hands in his curled hair. They had searched and searched and searched, but no dice. Emma was nowhere to be found.

"I'm sure she'll show up," Kurt said calmly, hoping the feeling would rub off on Will. Will had got extremely scared extremely fast. At first they had convinced themselves that Emma would just be right around this corner, or maybe she went back to tidy up that over there, but they never found her.

"I hope so," Will said, still pacing. Artie couldn't get himself into the search, though. Okay, well, it was kind of hard to look around while being pushed in a bathtub on wheels, but he didn't think he would be that into it if he could swim freely, either. Something kept nagging at him. Emma had looked so painfully normal. Shouldn't he have, oh, he didn't know, like glowing skin or something? She was pretty, but not incredibly beautiful, like the rumors had made those of ultimate power out to be. In fact, she was so normal she looked like she could of just walked right out of Finn's border.

"Will," Artie said, adjusting his glasses. "Are you sure Emma made this whole border?" Will stopped pacing for a minute, and looked at Artie, confused.

"Well, yes," he said, resuming his fruitless pacing. "I was with her when she did it."

"I see," Artie said. He couldn't even picture someone as normal as her doing something so extraordinary. He didn't want to admit it, but he was a little disappointed by this whole thing. If anything he wished he had never seen her. Well, no matter what she looked like, she couldn't look like what he was expecting. Reality has a way of letting you down like that.

"When did you two meet?" Blaine asked, and he was legitimately interested. How did you go about meeting and befriending a Goddess in this crazy world? They seemed to be pretty well protected. Like, he couldn't imagine people of ultimate power just strolling on to the grocery store to pick up some bread. Admittedly, his mind had been swarming with possibilities for their meeting, each idea more crazy than the last. Maybe she had saved him, somehow. That would be pretty romantic, since they seemed to be having a thing going on. His race could have been being persecuted, like the Korrigans. Speaking of races, what was Will, anyways? He didn't have any obvious physical characteristic, like Artie did.

"Well," Will began, smiling a little at the memory. Kurt realized this would be the perfect way to calm Will down. Just keep him talking about Emma. "It was a really long time ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Important things have a way of sticking in your mind like that." Kurt's heart immediately melted. He loved a good love story.

"I know what you mean," Blaine said, discreetly grabbing Kurt's hand. Kurt smiled, but gave no other outward signs of what Blaine just did.

"I'm sure you two do," Will said with a sad smile. "It's hard to think about her ever not being in my life, and no matter how hard it is to admit, we had never even met until our names were called."

"You names were what now?" Kurt asked quickly, not sure he had heard what he thought he had. Will nodded.

"Yeah, we were winners, too. I'm not sure how they do it now, but it had come as a total shock. It wasn't all that bad, though. We lived on opposite ends of the country. We probably would have never met, otherwise." Blaine gave Kurt's hand a little squeeze, gazing at him with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Oh, wow," Kurt said, his eyes wide. He had never even guessed they were both normal people. For some reason it was just so, so, sooo comforting to look at another actual person. Not that Artie wasn't a real person, but someone from his World One, someone from home. He looked at Will with more admiration than before. In the back of his mind, there had always been the nagging feeling that no other winners had lived, so what chance did he and Blaine have? It was a good thing to be proven wrong about. They really did have a chance.

"Like soulmates?" Artie asked. He wasn't big into the idea of having to stick to one woman for the rest of his life, but he still thought it was an interesting idea. Sure, he could be faithful, he was completely fine with that. Only one girl had ever made him feel like he could put up with her quirks for the rest of his life.

"Maybe," Will said with a wider smile. He liked the idea of that. "I'm sure we would have found a way to end up together, anyways. I don't know how I could live without her. She's never really liked to be completely alone, she likes to keep a few people close, you know? That's why I don't like the idea of her running around the castle alone."

"That's understandable," Blaine commented, because he could get it. He wouldn't want Kurt to have to feel alone, either.

"Yeah," Will said, still looking troubled. "I just don't understand why she would wander off like that. Normally if she just needs something done that she can't do from within her room Sunshine does it for her." Kurt perked up a little.

"Maybe she went to visit Sunshine?" He asked. It was a long shot, but if they were really as good of friends as Sunshine made them out to be, it might make a little sense. Will shook his head, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration.

"I couldn't see her doing that," Will said. He looked like he was debating whether he would inform them of something else. He must have decided to, as he took a deep breath, preparing to speak. "As you know, she's kind of, well, really into cleaning. She's been that way for as long as I've known her, but she just started getting so much worse. We're still working on it, but for awhile there it was just... unbearable. I didn't know if I could even stick it out with her. She's completely comfortable with her room now, and even the hallway to an extent, but we're still working on different areas, like other rooms."

"Er," Artie began, thinking way, way, _wayyy_ back. He had known so many different winners, most of which for just brief glances or just a few words. And Emma and Will had aged. He couldn't bring back any lengthy memories, just a flash of a long ago faded one. He almost remembered swimming out into fresh water one day a very, very, very long time ago and seeing two humans sitting on some rocks. He remembered the girl's dark eyes, but much lighter, sun bleached hair. The boy could have almost passed as a teenage Will, his much longer, ungelled light brown hair being the main difference. For some reason, in the memory, they were kissing, which made no sense. The Emma they knew now seemed sort of uncomfortable with a normal hug. "I almost think I remember seeing you two, a really long time ago. You were acting a lot different."

"I guess everyone changes with age," Will said, shrugging a little. Although he was trying to play it off cool, Kurt noticed the sadness in his voice.

"Normally something pretty bad would have to happen, for such a drastic change," Artie pressed. He wanted, no, he had to know. He almost didn't even care if it upset Will to talk about it. How could a normal person, a human even, get bumped up to God-status? It was almost ridiculous to even think about.

"I guess," Will said, obviously uncomfortable. Kurt and Blaine shared a sympathetic look.

"But what?" Artie pressed, leaning over the edge of his tub a little.

"I wouldn't know," Will said.

"I think you do," Artie said, studying Will for signs to prove he was lying. Will opened his mouth, as if he were going to say something, but then shut it quickly. Kurt didn't know if Artie realized how rude he was being, but he decided that it was about time this conversation came to a close.

"You know what?" Kurt said quickly, a fake smile on his face. "I think we should get back to looking for Emma." Will nodded, delighted at the excuse to end this train of conversation. He understood Artie's curiosity, it really was an unbelievable thing that had happened, but it wasn't something he wanted to speak freely about. What happened to Emma still haunts her, you can see it in everything she does. Will didn't know how long it would take her to completely recover, but he had to stick it through with her. It just wasn't something he could talk about yet, they all needed more time.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Kurt was seriously regretting his earlier suggestion. He knew they had to find Emma, but the castle was <em>so<em> painfully large. It felt like for every room or hallway they searched, another ten were put in their place. Kurt was honestly a little nervous about getting lost, but Will seemed to know his way around just fine. Eventually, however, things had to come to an end. They really were getting nowhere fast. Or, rather, very slowly.

"Uh, Will?" Kurt began, as Will opened the millionth random door on the billionth hallway they had visited. Inside the door was what looked like another identical hallway with just as many identical doors. Will walked in, and they all followed him inside.

"Yes?" Will asked, looking down the corridor to the left, then right. Kurt swallowed, not sure how to voice his concern. It was obvious there was an infinite amount of space left in the castle unexplored, and he really didn't think Emma could have wandered all the way out here of her own accord.

"Do you really think Emma wandered all the way out here?" Kurt asked slowly, watching Will open and shut a few more doors. Artie, who was slumped down in his tub, dying of boredom, was glad someone had finally said something.

"It's possible," Will said, shrugging off the idea of someone actually taking her. That couldn't possibly of happened. This was a safe place, everything was suppose to be okay while they were here.

"No, but really," Kurt pressed, feeling awkward. He didn't want to do this, but he knew he had to. "Will, do you think someone could of, I don't know, taken her or led her off?"

"Absolutely not," Will said without missing a beat. "We were all alone in that hallway. I'm sure she just made a wrong turn and got lost. That's why we're looking for her." Will smiled a little, trying a few more doors. Still no luck.

"I think Kurt was trying to kindly say he doesn't think we're going to find her like this," Artie said, still staring at the ceiling. He knew his words were probably rude but it was frustrating, okay? Who seriously wants to get pushed around all day and not be able to move freely. Besides, he hated that everyone was doing something he couldn't help with. He didn't like to feel useless.

"Do you really?" Will asked, turning to look at Kurt. Kurt glared at Artie. Way to go, totally putting him on the spot like that. Artie didn't seem to mind.

"A little," Kurt finally said, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Oh," Will said, looking at the floor. "I guess if you really feel that way you don't have to help-" Kurt quickly cut him off.

"No no no, I want to help, we all do! It's just, I don't feel like we're accomplishing much by just wandering around looking for her," Kurt tried to explain. Will nodded a little, understanding what Kurt was getting at.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Will asked, nervously. He didn't like the idea of Emma potentially being in danger. Kurt shook his head a little, looking down.

"I don't know," he said, truthfully. "Maybe we should call it a night. If she really just wandered off, like you said, she should go back to her room tonight to sleep, right?"

"I guess that makes sense," Will said, nodding.

"Why don't you wait in her room for her? I'm sure she wouldn't mind you sleeping in there," Kurt said with a warm smile. Will seemed to think this plan over for a minute.

"I guess if she really did just want to explore the castle she would go back to her room," he admitted. Kurt nodded.

"Then you should go wait there for her."

"You're right," Will said excitedly. "I'll go there right now, she's probably there already!" Will turned to leave when Blaine stopped him.

"First you might want to show us back to our room. I have absolutely no idea where we are," Blaine said, looking around the unfamiliar corridor.

"Oh, right," Will said, looking slightly crestfallen.

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Will," Kurt said with a tired smile as Will held the door open for him. Kurt's arms were incredibly sore from pushing Artie around all day, and his feet really hurt from all the walking they did. Surprisingly it had only taken Will about forty minutes to lead them back to their room, which was nothing compared to how long it would have taken them to find it themselves.<p>

"It was no problem," Will said, smiling a little. "It was really great to meet you boys today, but I need to get back to Emma's room. She's probably waiting for me there already."

"I bet she is," Blaine said, clapping Will on the shoulder affectionately as he walked into his and Kurt's room.

"I hope. Night boys," Will said, smiling at them. Kurt and Blaine wished him a goodnight, and Will closed the door, hurrying off down the hall towards Emma's room.

"Do you really think Emma's there?" Blaine asked after Will's footsteps had subsided.

"Not a chance," Kurt said, shaking his head. He stretched his sore arms out over his head, sighing a little. Today was a really long day. He looked over to Artie, who had fallen asleep in the tub sometime earlier. He had sunken down to the very bottom of the tub, and arm thrown over his eyes. Kurt would have thought he was maybe dead, but the little flaps of skin that normally blended in seamlessly were fluttering as they sucked water in and out for air. Kurt still wasn't entirely sure how merpeople worked, but he was pretty sure they could choose whether they wanted to breath water or not. Maybe. Whatever, they were weird.

Kurt looked around the already familiar room, smiling a little. The rest of the castle may have been a Christmas styled wreck, but at least their room was bearable. There was a noticeable heat change the moment you walked in, because of the fire that never seemed to go out. It was small and warm and maybe a little romantic. Kurt looked to Blaine, who looked absolutely irresistible in the dim light. Okay, maybe very romantic. Blaine was giving him the same look, and Kurt knew exactly what he wanted.

Kurt smiled a little, bitsy butterflies in his stomach at the idea of all the things he wanted to do with Blaine right now. Blaine seemed to get the idea, walking closer to Kurt and capturing his lips in a warm kiss. Kurt smiled against Blaine's lips, just thinking about how lucky he was. Blaine was _his_. Kurt tangled a hand in Blaine's curls, his lips moving against Blaine's fluidly.

"You know," Blaine said, when they broke for air. "When Will was talking about Emma earlier," Blaine worked out between small kisses. "I couldn't help but think about _you_," Blaine whispered the last word against Kurt's lip, making him shiver.

"I thought about you, too," Kurt admitted, loving the way Blaine's hand was rubbing his back.

"Oh, yeah?" Blaine asked, pressing kisses all along Kurt's jaw. "What did you think about?"

"I-I, _oh_, I thought about how much I like you," Kurt said, as Blaine nudged his head up for better neck access. Blaine licked a wet strip along a protruding tendon, blowing cold air on it. Kurt almost melted. "Really, really, really, realllly like you," Kurt admitted.

"I really like you, too," Blaine said, pressing kisses along the still moist skin.

"I thought about how amazing you are," Kurt said as Blaine's hands dropped from his back to his hips, rubbing the bone with his thumbs. "You're so amazing," Kurt sighed.

"You are too," Blaine mumbled, his lips moving against Kurt's skin.

"How glad I am we both won," Kurt said, his eyes squeezed shut. Blaine slowly backed him against the wall containing the fireplace, the wall here was warm to the touch, heating up Kurt's back.

"You're happy you won?" Blaine asked, his lips never leaving Kurt's skin. Kurt didn't say anything as Blaine worked his shirt off, leaving it forgotten on the floor. Kurt shook his head, shivering as Blaine attached his lips to Kurt's chest.

"I'm happy _we_ won," Kurt clarified, moving his hand in a petting motion in Blaine's hair as the latter licked and bit. "Because now I get to know you," Kurt mumbled, his head leaning against the wall, almost totally lost in a state of bliss. That was, until he heard a slight sloshing sound. Fuck, Artie was still in the room. Kurt quickly squirmed, "Blaine, Artie," Kurt whispered against his lover's ear.

Blaine looked away from Kurt's beautiful chest just long enough to confirm that Artie was still asleep. Yep, he had just rolled over, that was all. Blaine quickly shoved Artie's wheeled tub into the bathroom, locking the door before he shut it. In a flash he was back with Kurt, biting at the still-wet skin.

"Oh, you just don't miss a beat," Kurt groaned. Blaine, feeling adventurous, brought one of Kurt's already hardened nipples into his mouth, and scraped his teeth over it gently. Kurt whined loudly, but it was most definitely a good whine. Blaine smiled to himself, doing it again, then repeating the treatment on the other before moving lower. Blaine dropped to his knees out of necessity, licking the area over Kurt's bellybutton. Kurt almost screamed. Blaine was being such a tease.

"Never," Blaine mumbled, feeling like he was getting off to this just as much as Kurt was. He could feel Kurt's erection pressing firmly against the constricting pants, right at the base of Blaine's neck. His own was straining against the fabric of his own pants, fully hard already.

"Mmm," Kurt moaned as Blaine pressed wet kisses to the area directly over his waistband. "Blaine, lower," Kurt groaned, practically begging.

"Where?" Blaine asked, and Kurt could feel him smiling against his skin. "Here?" Blaine asked, bringing up a hand to palm at Kurt's clothed erection. Kurt squirmed, savoring the feeling of Blaine's hand. Blaine firmed his grip, slowly rubbing Kurt over his pants. One of Kurt's hands was balled up in a fist in Blaine's hair, pulling probably more than necessary but neither boy particularly cared. His other hand was firmly planted on the wall behind him, holding onto it like it were the only thing keeping him together at this point. Which it probably was, to be honest.

Blaine nipped at Kurt's skin a few more times until moving lower, using his hands and, _oh god_, his teeth to undo the button and zipper. The pants tangled in a pool at Kurt's ankles but damn if he cared, as Blaine moved on to mouth at his straining erection through the impossibly thin material of his boxers. Kurt was moaning and whimpering in his throat, a pathetic attempt to be quiet for Artie's sake, but, oh what the hell that boy would never wake up. Kurt moaned loudly, and Blaine took this noise as confirmation that this was okay, dropping Kurt's boxers and immediately licking at the head of his lover's cock.

"_Blaine_," Kurt whimpered, his legs shaking. Blaine continued adorning Kurt's cock with small licks and kisses, refusing to take it all in his mouth like he knew Kurt so wanted.

"_Patience_," Blaine said, his lips moving directly against Kurt's hardened cock. Kurt shut his eyes, resting his head against the wall. He tried to be patient as Blaine continued his painstakingly slow progression from little, gentle licks to actually taking the head in, swirling his tongue around it. Kurt started panting, tugging at Blaine's hair for all he was worth as Blaine took Kurt in further, his lips wrapped around his teeth, sucking fluidly. Kurt made a strangled noise in his throat, his cock throbbing inside Blaine's impossibly wet, warm mouth.

Kurt let out a string of curse-filled moans as Blaine started pumping what he couldn't fit into his mouth with his free hand, his other rubbing up and down Kurt's smooth thigh. All it took Kurt to completely lose it was sneaking a peek down at Blaine, who looked positively obscene in that position. His red, kiss-swollen lips were working their way up and down Kurt's cock, his cheeks hollowing out with how intense he sucked. His eyes were shut in ecstasy, a blissful look across his face._ Oh god.._

Kurt shakily brought his hand from the wall, resting it over Blaine's hand on his thigh. Blaine immediately grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers. Kurt could feel Blaine's erratic heartbeat through his fingers and he just lost it. He tried to warn Blaine, but his words came out as nothing but a strangled cry. Blaine kept licking and sucking and pumping at Kurt's cock through his orgasm, swallowing up all the bitter, slightly salty fluid. Kurt only moaned louder, at realizing what Blaine was doing, his orgasm extended with Blaine still working him, holding his hand the whole way through.

"Oh, god," Kurt sighed, as Blaine swallowed around him dryly once more before pulling away. Kurt shuddered as the cold air hit his extremely sensitized cock. He let himself open his eyes as Blaine stood, his knees sore. Kurt smiled at him, pulling him in for a kiss, eager to return the favor. When Blaine was flush against him, though, he realized something. "You're not hard," Kurt said, moving his hand to feel at the area for confirmation. Blaine shivered a little as Kurt groped at the clothing over his sensitive flesh, uncomfortably sticky and wet.

"Yeah," Blaine said with a small smile. "Ends up I liked that a lot more than I thought I would," he admitted. Kurt felt a small pang of guilt.

"B-But, Blaine," Kurt said quickly, biting at his bottom lip. "I'm sorry! I promise I'll make it up to you!" Kurt felt so bad. Blaine had just given him the most amazing orgasm of his life and he couldn't even return the favor.

"It's fine," Blaine said, pressing his wet lips against Kurt's dry ones. Blaine worked at the button and zipper of his pants, desperately needing a fresh pair. Kurt watched guiltily as Blaine stepped out of his wet clothes, wiping off the excess cum on a green and red tissue he found in a snowman-shaped tissue box on a nightstand. "There we go," Blaine said, throwing the tissue in a wastebasket. "Bed?" He asked, tilting his head to the side a little. Kurt didn't like the idea of sleeping naked, but, he would try anything that involved his gorgeous Blaine being naked.

"Bed," Kurt repeated with a smile. The boys got in the oh so comfortable bed, and Kurt wrapped his arm around Blaine, it being a nice change from the usual. They made sure to cover up with the fluffy comforter though, just in case Artie woke up and somehow got out of the bathroom. "Thank you, Blaine," Kurt said against the back of Blaine's neck.

"For what?" Blaine asked, entwining his fingers with Kurt's.

"Everything," Kurt said. And he meant it.

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><p>Why, I say~ -high fives self- Way to keep it classy~<br>Lolololol so I was seriously considering replacing the word 'pants' in this whole chapter with the world 'pantaloons' and giving no explanation on it at all just to see what you guys would say about it. Hahahah I'm so hilarious sometimes I just don't even know what to do with myself.  
>Also, a lot of you think I should keep this story going for as long as possible, when I got another suggestion to maybe wrap things up in another 3-5 chaps. When I first thought of this story I actually thought of like 100k words or so, but I understand things can get pretty dry with that. I tend to get really into writing my stories, if you couldn't tell.<br>So, uh, if things start getting boring just slap me and y'know we'll work things out from there. As a family.  
>Also, quick poll, who wants the Warblers to be good guys or bad guys or what. I feel like they could go either way. Both would be pretty fun, but I almost feel like I don't have enough darker characters (which we'll get into more when they're closer to the Dark Lands than the Light Lands). But it's whatever you all want.<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

Just to warn you, there's a good-morning blowjob at the start of this chapter. If that's not your thing just skip ahead. ;DDDD

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><p>Kurt woke up before Blaine did, yawning slightly. No matter what time it had to be in the room, it was always dim and warm and cozy. He didn't know how it was possible not to be sleepy in it. He looked down at Blaine, who was still fast asleep in his arms. He had a content smile on his face, his ever lengthening black hair obscuring his eyes. Kurt would have to hold him down and force a hair cut upon him one of these days. Them being in a society where hair cuts weren't expected was no excuse.<p>

It was probably a little creepy, but Kurt didn't care. He shamelessly watched Blaine sleep, feeling the steady rise and fall of the boy's breathing. After awhile Blaine eventually began to stir, his eyes opening slowly. Blaine shifted slightly, looking up to meet Kurt's eyes.

"Hey, you," Blaine said, stifling a yawn.

"Hey," Kurt replied, smiling. He pressed a few kisses to the back of Blaine's neck, his mind reeling over the events of last night. Blaine sighed happily, feeling the fluid motion of Kurt's lips on his neck. He was usually half-hard in the mornings anyways, but if Kurt kept this up they would be in for a very enjoyable morning. Kurt slipped his hand out of Blaine's, placing it flat against Blaine's chest, slowly creeping down south.

"Mmm," Blaine moaned, his skin burning where Kurt touched. "So early?" Kurt smiled against the wet flesh he was still adorning with kisses.

"Are you complaining?" Kurt asked, feeling the curly, soft hairs under Blaine's bellybutton. Kurt's touch was so light and gentle it made Blaine squirm, desperate for more.

"No," Blaine said quickly, shifting slightly to give Kurt better access. He could feel the heat of Kurt's hand, it was so close. Kurt was refusing to wrap his hand around Blaine's hardness, instead just touching the tip and trailing down to the thatch of curly hair at the base. Blaine groaned, bucking his hips up at the contact.

"_Patience_," Kurt quoted Blaine from last night, licking a strip from Blaine's neck to his jaw, running the tips of a few fingers up and down Blaine's shaft. Eventually he added his thumb, circling it around the head as his grip became firmer. Blaine was whimpering and moaning, thrusting up into Kurt's hand wildly.

"Oh god," Blaine moaned loudly, a thin layer of sweat coating his skin. Kurt thought for a moment about last night. What Blaine had did felt so good, so much better than his hand had felt. He swallowed, a little nervously.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked, breathing directly in Blaine's ear.

"Y-Yes?" Blaine ground out, Kurt's hand never slowing, squeezing the spots he knew Blaine was the most sensitive.

"C-Can I use," Kurt asked, feeling suddenly shy. "Can I use my mouth? On your," Kurt flushed, letting his voice trail off. Blaine simply groaned, turning to pull Kurt on top of him.

"You don't have to ask," Blaine said, pulling Kurt in for their first proper mouth-on-mouth kiss of the day. It was surprisingly sweet for their current situation, their tongues rubbing together slowly, tasting each other. At a different time Kurt might of been afraid of morning breath or anything else embarrassing like that, but he was so comfortable around Blaine. He didn't think he could ever feel uncomfortable around him.

Kurt broke off the kiss sooner than either of them would have liked to move south, surprisingly eager to suck Blaine off. He still felt incredibly bad about last night. He wanted to make Blaine feel just as good as he had felt, even though he wasn't exactly sure what to do. Not that he hadn't ever thought about it, and maybe even practiced once or twice a very long time ago.

The only problem was, Blaine had a lot more girth than anything he had practiced on. He wasn't sure if he could open his mouth wide enough. And what if he couldn't keep sucking while Blaine was orgasming, as Blaine had done for him. That wouldn't be very fair, now would it? Kurt's mind was racing as he placed sloppy kisses all down Blaine's front.

Kurt paused his downwards streak once he reached the curly hairs directly under Blaine's bellybutton. He licked and sucked at the area, feeling Blaine's cock pressing firmly against his neck. He brought up a hand to tickle at the hairs as he worked his way down oh-so-slowly. There was no putting it off any longer as Blaine groaned loudly, begging Kurt to stop teasing. Kurt decided he really did like Blaine begging him, but there was no way he could deny Blaine what he so much wanted.

"It's alright, Baby," Kurt soothed, entwining his fingers with Blaine's with his free hand. Kurt looked down at Blaine's cock, appreciating it for just a second before leaning down, licking up the little drop of precum that had accumulated there. It wasn't as bad as Kurt had expected, it was a little sweet with a salty aftertaste and had a weird consistency, but it wasn't altogether unbearable.

With that little confirmation Kurt took the whole head in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hot flesh. Blaine whimpered loudly, and Kurt took pity on him. He spit on the hand that was tickling Blaine's treasure trail and started pumping Blaine's shaft, bringing his mouth down just as far as he could. Blaine shook slightly as he tried to contain himself from thrusting up into Kurt's mouth. He swallowed, giving a light thrust to see how Kurt would react.

"Is that okay?" Blaine asked, giving another very light, very shallow thrust.

"Mhm," Kurt mumbled around Blaine's cock. The vibrations made Blaine moan loudly, his eyes squeezed shut to the point he saw lights. Blaine couldn't stop the noises coming out of his mouth as he gave Kurt's mouth shallow thrusts in the rhythm Kurt's hand and mouth had set. Blaine knew Kurt wouldn't appreciate getting his precious hair pulled, so Blaine settled for tangling his hand in the sheets.

"Oh god, oh fuck, _Kurt_, I," Blaine groaned, his heart pounding out an erratic rhythm against his chest. A lengthy amount of unintelligible noises came out his mouth as he gave Kurt's mouth a few more thrusts. Kurt seemed to get the idea, pulling away and letting Blaine thrust crazily into his hand, hot liquid shooting out all over Blaine's stomach. Kurt watched Blaine's stomach muscles clenching with his orgasm, appreciating how vocal his lover was.

Feeling bold, Kurt leaned over Blaine's impressive stomach, giving the white liquid a small lick. It really wasn't as bad as he was expecting. He licked up the rest, the worst part being swallowing. It was kind of like glue in his mouth. He tried to think of it more of as thick yogurt when he swallowed. It would really take some getting used to but he was pretty sure he could do it.

Kurt moved up on Blaine's body, kissing his lips. At first he wasn't going to use any tongue, not sure how keen Blaine would be on tasting himself. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, licking across his lips, asking for entrance. Kurt could have just died. He opened his mouth, welcoming Blaine's tongue it. Blaine's tongue rubbed against his greedily, licking up all taste that resided there. For some reason it was one of the hottest things Kurt had ever seen, and his leaking erection throbbed painfully.

"Huh?" Artie's voice drifted in from the bathroom, sounding sleepy and confused. Kurt broke the kiss, a little bit of spit dribbling down his chin.

"Go back to sleep, Artie," he called over his shoulder.

"Al-alright," Artie replied, yawning partway through the word. There was a sloshing sound as he dropped back in the tub, sinking like a rock. Kurt turned back to Blaine unfazed, resuming the kiss where they had left off. Kurt's erection was actually getting pretty painful now, and he thought about bringing down a hand to just jerk himself off and relieve the pressure.

Blaine was way ahead of him though, reaching a hand to between Kurt's legs without breaking the kiss. Blaine closed his hand around Kurt's cock and Kurt bucked his hips into it, his precum acting as a sufficient lube. It only took about five thrusts until his orgasm racked his body, just as intense as every other time Blaine had gotten him off.

Kurt collapsed against Blaine, their breathing uneven and heavy. He could feel his sticky sperm sealed between them but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was still basking in the afterglow with Blaine. After a few minutes, though, the feeling of the drying sperm was too much for him and he had to get off Blaine to grab a tissue. His legs shook slightly as he walked to the nightstand, bringing back the stupid snowman-shaped tissue box. He found an unopened water bottle next to it, and felt thankful Emma and Will knew about the everyday convinces of World One.

He wet some tissues with the water, cleaning off Blaine, who was lying limp, still savoring the feeling. He quickly got himself and dried them off, throwing the used tissues into the wastebasket. Eventually Blaine found the ability to sit up, and both boys quickly got dressed, neither really paying much attention. Well, Kurt was, as always, but much less than usual. They both had the feeling today was going to be one excellent day. Although it would be hard for anything to top that morning they had shared.

Blaine quickly picked the bathroom's lock, the lock being just about the most simple one in the world. Artie was still passed out on the bottom of his tub, the flaps of skin on his neck fluttering with each breath. They performed their bathroom rituals without much incident, Kurt's taking at least three times longer than Blaine's, easily. Eventually Artie woke up, right as Kurt was finishing up.

"Can you two do me a favor?" Artie asked as Kurt gently patted his face dry on a towel.

"That being?" Blaine asked, getting kind of bored of just sitting there.

"I need new water," Artie said, cupping a hand in the water and letting it slowly fall through his fingers in the air. "This is getting stale."

"Sure," Blaine said, walking over to Artie and picking him out of the tub. Apparently he had grabbed the merman wrong, though, as Artie immediately started laughing and squirmed to a different position.

"Wow, there, buddy," Artie said, with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you going to buy me dinner first?"

"Oh, ew," Kurt said, walking over to the tub to mess with the controls. "Blaine, are you sick of me already?"

"Wha- no," Blaine said quickly, shaking his head.

"He's lying," Artie said flatly. "He's coming onto me like no other."

"I am not," Blaine said nervously. Kurt looked on the list of controls, kind of confused. He settled for pressing a button labeled 'empty'. Immediately it was like the bottom of the tub dropped out, all the water falling into the black nothingness. None of it hit the tiled floor, however. It was just... gone. Weird. Kurt didn't spend much time thinking this through as he hit another button labelled 'fill'. The bottom returned and water coming from seemingly nowhere shot out of the golden spigot.

"I don't know how much I want to get into there now," Artie said truthfully, watching as the water filled the wheeled tub.

"You'll be fine," Blaine said offhandedly, dropping Artie into the water.

"Is it alright?" Kurt asked, eyeing the many, many controls. Artie sloshed around in the water a little.

"Eh," he said, running his hand through it. "It'll be fine for now. I really miss the freshwater streams, though. Just look at my tail." Kurt and Blaine hadn't noticed before, but Artie's tail definitely looked a few shades less vibrant than it usually did. Some patches were that same steely blue, while others had dulled down to a sapphire shade.

"Why does it do that?" Blaine asked, poking at a dark blue patch. The skin there was different than the steely blue, feeling much more taut and almost a little peely, as if you could rip it right off if you were so inclined. Artie shrugged, lifting up his tail to try and examine the underside.

"No idea," he said honestly. "This water's just altogether unpleasant. It'll go back to normal when we're back, though."

"Huh. Well, I guess that's good," Kurt said, wheeling Artie out of the bathroom. Blaine held the door leading to the hall open for them, and it only took them half a second to realize something was very wrong. The halls were absolutely full, people dressed in that silly elf costume and people dressed normally scrambling around.

They tried to maneuver around all these people, but it was hard. Artie's tub accidentally ran smack into someone, spraying them with water. Artie laughed outright the moment it happened, not even seeing who was splashed.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt quickly exclaimed, walking around the tub to make sure they were alright. She wiped the water away from her eyes, mumbling that she was fine. When she looked up to Kurt he could feel his jaw involuntarily drop.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking concerned. "Are you sick?" She rested the back of her hand on his forehead. "You seem just fine."

"I-I-I," Kurt tried to say, shaking his head.

"You can help us!" She said, excitedly. "Everyone's been really scared. Apparently the Goddess who lives here has gone missing. Nobody knows what she looks like, but apparently we really need to find her."

"I think you're the one who's sick," Artie said, leaning over the side of his tub to better examine Emma's still-wet face.

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><p>Aaaaand there we have it. This took surprisingly long to write, it didn't flow as naturally as the rest of the chapters. Anyways I hope you all enjoy :33<br>I try not to be a review whore, because those are annoying, but I'm excited. I might break 100 reviews for this story with this chapter -flails-  
>I was thinking of doing something awesome for the 100th reviewer, but I couldn't think of anything. Uh, I guess you'll get an internet high five since that's all I'm good for.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

HAY GUIEZ. IT'S ME AGAIN. I THINK I'LL JUST LEAVE THIS CHAPTER RIGHTTTTT HERE.

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><p>"E-Emma?" Blaine asked, watching her nervously. She looked a little confused, like she still wasn't sure who Emma was.<p>

"Who?" Emma asked, with a small smile. The boys all shared a look.

"Dude," Artie said with a raised eyebrow. He watched Emma carefully, and she squirmed a little, nervously.

"I know," Kurt said, keeping his eyes on Emma to make sure she wouldn't wander off. She was still watching them curiously, trying to figure out what they were talking about. Kurt was pretty sure she wasn't faking, either. She looked legitimately confused. "Emma," Kurt said slowly, taking her hand.

"Who?" Emma asked again, looking slightly wary but not taking her hand away.

"You," Blaine clarified, giving Emma the kindest smile he could muster. She nodded a little, still looking slightly confused.

"Uh, where have you been?" Kurt asked, starting to walk again. Emma followed, her hand still in his. Blaine got the idea, pushing Artie's tub in the direction Kurt was heading. Towards Will's room.

"Looking for the Goddess," Emma said, and Kurt shook his head a little.

"No, before that. Where did you sleep last night?" He was using his most soothing tone, and it looked like it might have been working a little.

"Hmm," Emma said, thinking back. "With Sunshine," Emma finally said, and Kurt's eyes narrowed.

"Knew there was something wrong with that girl," Artie said, lounging back in his tub.

"Well, maybe Sunshine found her yesterday. She could have just let Emma stay in her room the night," Kurt reasoned, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Sure, he didn't particularly like Sunshine very much, but he was pretty sure her heart was in the right place. She hadn't ever done anything that would be suspicious. She seemed to adore Emma. "Emma, where were you before you met up with Sunshine?"

"Uh," Emma said, bringing her bottom lip in her mouth. Her eyebrows crinkled together in concentration as she thought, and Kurt couldn't help but think of her kind of like a little girl. Sure, she was visibly older than him, but she was acting so young. "I don't remember," Emma said finally.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked from behind Artie's tub.

"It's just all fuzzy, I can't remember," Emma tried to clarify. Every time she tried to think back to before waking up in Sunshine's room everything just got foggy, like a cloud was obscuring her memory.

"Hmmm," Kurt said thoughtfully. He held Emma's hand slightly tighter as they walked, not wanting her to leave his side. Eventually, Kurt thought of something that might jog Emma's memory. "Do you know where we're going?" Kurt asked her.

"No," Emma answered simply.

"We're going to see Will," Blaine said, trying to help her memory. And there was nothing. No sign of recognition flashed across her face, or anything else that would signal she understood who they meant.

"Oh," Emma said slowly, not really sure how to react. "Is he anything like Sunshine?" The boys exchanged another look, not sure what to say.

"Not really," Artie answered, figuring it was better to be truthful. Emma's face visibly fell.

"Oh," she said again, sounding a little disappointed this time.

"But he's a lot better than Sunshine," Kurt said quickly. Emma smiled in obvious disbelief, but didn't say anything. Huh. Maybe Emma and Sunshine really were better friends than they had appeared to be. They walked more for awhile, keeping their eyes peeled for both Will and Sunshine, having serious questions for both.

"Emma," Blaine finally said. Emma looked at him, brushing some of her bangs out of her face. They weren't doing the looping thing they normally did, which was interesting. "Do you know where Sunshine is?" Kurt looked at Blaine in disbelief. Why hadn't _he_ thought of just asking her?

"Probably looking for me," Emma said, shrugging. Although she tried to look like she didn't mind, there was a small hint of sadness in her voice. Like she regretted leaving Sunshine. "She didn't want me to leave her room."

"So she could go and find Will?" Kurt asked with a weak smile. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he wanted to ask just to be sure.

"No," Emma said without missing a beat. "She didn't really tell me why. She told me about the Goddess going missing, though, so I snuck out when she was gone to try and look. Nobody can tell me what she looks like, though. I really want to find her. It would make Sunshine so happy, don't you think?"

"Ecstatic," Artie said in a dry voice, an annoyed expression on his face.

It had taken them awhile, but eventually they found their way back to Emma's room. Kurt figured that was the better place to go to, since one it might help Emma's memories, and two he doubted Will had left it. The halls were just as deserted as last time they had visited, the door still just as worn down. Emma wrinkled her nose at it.

"Why does that door look different than all the others?" She asked, looking at the door with obvious distaste.

"A clean freak lives there," Artie said without looking up from his tail. He was examining the dark spots to see how much worse they had gotten.

"Oh," Emma said with obvious distaste. "Sunshine really likes to clean."

"Do you not?" Blaine asked nervously. Emma shrugged.

"It's alright, I guess." The boys exchanged another nervous look before Kurt stepped ahead, knocking on the door a few times. He was on his third knock when the door sprung open, and Kurt jumped back unexpectedly. Will was standing in the doorway looking frantic, his hair ungelled and a total mess, dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious he had stayed up all night worrying. His anxious demeanor immediately melted upon seeing Emma, who was looking at him curiously from behind Kurt.

"Oh, Emma," Will said, racing up to her and pulling her into a firm hug. Her arms hung limply at her sides, and she turned her face away, staring down the empty hall. "Emma, I was so worried, never do that again," Will said, nuzzling the top of her head. After a moment he seemed to notice she wasn't reacting, though, and he looked at her nervously as he pulled away.

"Do I know you?" Emma asked nervously, playing with a string of dark red hair with one hand, her bottom lip between her teeth. Will looked like he could have fainted right there. Or maybe throw up. Kurt took a nervous step back, just in case.

"Emma, it's me," Will said frantically. He looked like he wanted to grab onto her again but he restrained himself. "You know, Will." She shook her head a little, studying him intently.

"I'm sorry, Will," Emma said, thinking back hard. Still, all she could remember was static. "I'm sure it's my fault, I've been forgetting a lot lately." Will looked from Emma to the boys frantically, his anxious demeanor reappearing.

"We found her roaming the halls earlier looking for the Goddess," Blaine tried to explain, but there really wasn't a lot to tell. "Apparently she had escaped from Sunshine's room."

"Not to pin all the blame on her or anything, but she does seem pretty guilty," Kurt had to admit. Will nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Emma's.

"Has anyone seen her yet?" Will finally asked, his voice sounding slightly raspy.

"No," Blaine said, shaking his head. "We haven't full-on looked for her yet, though. We were just scanning for her while we brought Emma to you. It probably wouldn't have been very safe to bring Emma around her, anyways." Will nodded, finally pulling his eyes off Emma.

"I should have known," Will said, shaking his head. "We need someone to guard her while we go and find Sunshine. She has some serious explaining to do."

"I volunteer," Artie said lazily, raising a hand. The boys all looked at him skeptically, but there really were no better options. It was really Artie or nothing at this point.

"Alright, Kurt and Blaine," Will said, looking at the two boys. "I have something to explain to you about Sunshine on our way to her room. It'll probably help you understand the situation better."

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><p>"When Emma and I first won," Will began abruptly, apparently just now finding the courage to speak. They had been walking for about five minutes now, and Kurt and Blaine were really starting to wonder when he would get on with the story. "Things were really hard, but we adapted and overcame the obstacles. Unlike you two, we traveled to the Dark Lands, first. In retrospect, that was probably a very bad idea, but we didn't really understand just how bad things were over there at the time. Like you two, we had no idea about what was really going on in the world."<p>

"Sounds familiar," Blaine said, remembering how quick it was for him and Kurt to find danger, just seconds after leaving the protection of the castle. Will nodded, swallowing once before he continued.

"Back then, and it was a very, very, very long time ago, trust me, Elves were the most prominent race. I believe nowadays there's more of a variety, but I haven't left this castle in so long."

"Um, Will," Kurt said, not really wanting to cut Will off but he was legitimately curious about something. "I understand species like, Merpeople and Korrigans and stuff living a really, really long time, but aren't you and Emma human? Shouldn't you guys just have a normal lifespan?" Will laughed without humor.

"That took me awhile to figure out, too. It's depressing, so I'm not shocked Artie hasn't told you yet. The country we came from had a border, just like how this one did. But the people who rule, they're not Gods. They're not powerful enough to sustain one, as Emma was. Instead they have to feed off the life force of those inside, drastically shortening the resident's lifespans in exchange for the protection. It's a messy deal, but I suppose it all works out in favor of the residents." Kurt felt sick to his stomach. It was just wrong to shorten people's lives without their consent. At least everyone should get a choice.

"But- That's," Kurt tried to articulate, but failed. Will nodded solemnly.

"I understand exactly what you mean. I didn't like it anymore than you do, but eventually you'll accept the idea. Truth is, humans need it. We really don't have any special powers other species developed because we've never had the need to evolve them. Back there, you basically just live to breed, your life is so short. Here, you really, really live. Whether that's a good thing or not, I haven't found out yet." Blaine nodded slowly, his arm thrown over Kurt's shoulders to comfort him. Kurt seemed especially hit hard by the news of the border, while Blaine was still digesting it, not really sure how to feel.

"That still leaves something out, though," Blaine said, finally glad they were getting some answers. "How did Emma get the power to sustain a whole border when others need to cut every residences lifespan in like, fourths to sustain one."

"That's what I was getting at earlier, actually," Will said, as they all rounded a corner. "You don't see Elves around anymore, unless they've made a comeback that I'm not aware of. I'm pretty sure Sunshine is the last one, and Emma saved her." Blaine actually stopped walking for a second, trying to process the new information.

"H-How?" Blaine finally said, finding his words after a pause. Will shook his head a little, looking sad. The memories were obviously still painful for him, and Kurt wondered how many other people knew this story. Probably not many.

"Things were getting really, really bad. It was horrifying, honestly. The Elves were the first race the Queen of the Dark Lands went after, trying to wipe them all out. The Elves were on top for a reason, though. They were incredibly powerful. Emma and I had managed to stay away from most of the raids, only really getting caught up in one or two, but we managed to get ourselves out of there. We just weren't ready, we didn't know what to do, there was no way we could have known how to bring peace. I still think if only we had done something a little different we could have done it."

"It wasn't your fault," Kurt tried to comfort him. Kurt thought of Sam, who was practically in the same position as Sunshine. Being one of the last few survivors. He hated it, but when he thought about things like that, he almost felt bad for Sunshine.

"If only we had done things other than just tried to save our own necks things might be different. It would be unnatural if I could forgive myself for something like that."

"But you know now. You guys are protecting a lot of people with your border, now," Blaine tried to reason, not wanting Will to beat himself up over something that happened so long ago. Brooding over it wasn't going to fix anything, especially not Emma.

"I guess," Will said, shaking his head. "It's just, you never really get over it. Seeing someone die. Even if they're not, like, human. They're still people." Will shook his head, trying to pull his mind back from the dark corners which it was creeping to. He had to finish his story, to let Kurt and Blaine know. Maybe they could do something he didn't. "The day we finally tried to help, the worst possible thing happened. The giant, ancient Elven town we were residing in got raided. We were staying at the castle, where a God lived. We were there to plead for him to help us, or show us the way. We were there to admit we needed help."

"I know the feeling," Blaine said, thinking about how hard it was to ask for help in the beginning. How at first he didn't even want Artie to join them, he was so proud. At least his desire to protect Kurt was larger than his pride, or else things could have gotten very bad very fast.

"He, too, was sustaining a border, but it wasn't the same kind as Emma has placed around here. There, he only let Elves through. We had to befriend one just to be able to cross it. Emma's only lets those who believe their alignment is good to cross, which isn't as powerful as being exclusive to a certain species, but it works nonetheless. The thing is, it was a very, very bad Elf who let Dark Forces in. Gods aren't very powerful when sustaining a border, though, since it takes so much out of them. So, he was in a predicament. He could either let the border fail to help his people, letting in more Dark Forces, or trust his people could fight them off while maintaining the border. He chose wrong." Kurt swallowed, hard.

"Which did he choose?" Kurt asked, feeling like he already knew the answer. Will shook his head sadly.

"He chose to maintain the border, basically having to watch as his people were chopped down. He couldn't deal with the grief, he felt like there was nothing left to live for, for good reason. He passed on his powers to Emma when he turned himself into the Dark Forces, as long as we saved whoever we could while they were distracted with him. We bolted, only managing to grab the little girl that would grow up to be Sunshine as we escaped."

"Oh, wow," Blaine said upon hearing the end of the story. Kurt sniffed, wiping at his eyes. It was so sweet and sad, even if Sunshine did grow up to be who she is. Quite frankly all he wanted at this point in time was to run up and give Sunshine a big hug. "Why didn't she grow up thinking of you two as her parents or something, then," Blaine asked after thinking about the idea. Will shrugged.

"Elves don't treat their Gods casually at all, it would probably seem like more of an insult to them to try and just go up and talk to one. Emma didn't earn her power like the Gods Sunshine grew up idolizing, she was flat out given it. Sunshine just doesn't understand Emma's a regular person, though. I've tried telling her before, believe me." The boys nodded, all of Sunshine's odd actions making a little more sense now.

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><p>I am aware this is a lame chapter ender. You should also be aware that I don't care -puts on sunglasses- -rides off into the sunset-<p>

Oh oh oh I almost forgot. I'm sending an e-five silentlullabye's way with so much speed it'll make her email load in less than two seconds. TRY DOING THAT WITH DIAL-UP.


	21. Chapter 21

How about I typed this whole chapter in less than an hour. I literally have had no time lately, and if I didn't post it now it wouldn't be posted, and I could use the amusement of reading your reviews while I'm dying of boredom in class later. I'm sorry if I haven't been replying to you guys's awesome messages, it's just I haven't had the time. I will when I get back, though, hopefully. Happy reading :3

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><p>When they entered Sunshine's room, without knocking, they found her sitting on the side of her neatly-made bed, her face in her hands. She was making small huffing sounds, her long hair obscuring her face. When Will, who was standing in front of Kurt and Blaine, tried to walk further than the doorway, it was like he was walking straight into a wall.<p>

"Ouch, what the," Will said, putting his hand up to the invisible wall. He knocked on the air, and it felt solid, just, well, invisible.

"Is that a border?" Kurt asked curiously, putting a hand on it. It didn't feel any different than the other air to him, he just couldn't get his hand through it.

"Yeah," Will said, examining the area more closely.

"But, how?" Blaine asked, actually interested. If Elves were as powerful as Will had made them seem, maybe they could make borders.

"I don't know," Will answered. "If she made it, it should be pretty simple to get through. We could probably do it with brute force, honestly."

"Oh," Kurt said, watching Sunshine closely. "Can she see us?"

"Probably not. It's easier to block out the rest of the world than to block out yourself." Will curled his hand into a fist, and punched the invisible wall as hard as he could. There was a small disturbance in the air around where his fist hit, like the border slightly quivered. Ripples began swirling as Will hit the wall more times in a steady flow, his knuckles having been ripped open. He didn't particularly seem to care as he punched, thin lines of his blood dripping down, coloring the invisible wall.

"Looks like it's working," Kurt mumbled, wincing when Will brought his fist out again. Kurt honestly could have fainted, the skin was completely gone from his knuckles. Will struck the wall again, sending more ripples than before. Sunshine finally seemed to notice, looking up from her bed and around the room. Will struck again, and she found the area the ripples were coming from. She couldn't see what was happening, but she knew someone was trying to get in.

She swallowed, thinking. There was a good chance it was just her Goddess coming back, but she should have been able to just slip through. Then again, she had probably made the border wrong herself, she hadn't ever really tried to make one before. Oh god, she must have accidentally sealed her Goddess out. She stared at the ripples, hoping desperately it was who she wanted on the other side. She breathed in deeply.

"_Enter_," she whispered, and Will stumbled in, almost falling on the ground. He managed to hold his footing, standing up to stare straight into Sunshine's eyes. Sunshine couldn't tell whether he was angry or not, his face was completely unreadable. She felt a small pang of guilt, but she knew she shouldn't. She was just protecting her Goddess, she hadn't done anything bad. They were the bad ones here, obviously. Maybe he just wanted her to help him search, anyways. She didn't think her Goddess could have gotten too far.

"H-Hello," she finally said, giving Will her best attempt at a smile. Her face just wasn't working right, twisting up into an awkward position, but Will didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Sunshine," Will said, his tone blank. She hated not knowing whether he was mad or scared or what. Kurt and Blaine watched the proceedings from the outside, the border having gone solid again once Will stumbled through when he went to punch again.

"What brings you here?" Sunshine asked slowly, trying to keep her tone chipper. She couldn't stop it from quivering slightly, however. Again, Will didn't seem to notice. She wasn't sure whether she was thankful for that or not.

"Sunshine," Will said, taking a small step closer to her. "Have you seen Emma?" Sunshine almost sighed in relief, but she caught herself. That was all Will wanted, he just wanted her to help him search. Then, when her Goddess finally showed up she could just pretend she had no idea about the memory loss.

"I haven't," Sunshine answered. She didn't really like lying but she understood it was for the best. She would do what she had to. Her answer didn't seem to sit properly with Will, however. He brought his bottom lip into his mouth, obviously not wanting to confront her about what he had to say. Oh no. Maybe he had bad news. How could something have happened in such short time? Her Goddess had only been gone for a few hours, there was no way.

"I," Will began, his tone sad. "I think you're not telling me the truth," he said simply, sitting on her bed next to her. Her insides squirmed, she would need to get new sheets. But, still. How would he be able to tell if she were lying or not? Even if they had found her missing Goddess, she wouldn't have been able to tell them anything. Her memory should have been totally wiped, there shouldn't be anyway to get the memories back.

"Why would you think that?" Sunshine asked with a small smile. Will had to of just been guessing, he couldn't prove anything. As long as she didn't give anything away she was positive she would be safe. Again, Will looked very uncomfortable, like there was more he didn't want to say.

"We found her, Sunshine. Emma. She's completely alright, but she's not the same. I want to know what you did." Sunshine swallowed, feeling her heart rate pick up. She tried not to look away from Will's piercing stare, not wanting to look any guiltier than she already did.

"I-I'm glad you found her," Sunshine lied. This would make things even more complicated. It would be very hard, but she would have to find a way to get her Goddess back from them. They didn't deserve her, not that Sunshine herself did. But she could do more.

"Sunshine," Will said, and she had to look at the floor. Something inside her urked when he said her name. "I want to know what you did," Will repeated himself, and Sunshine could feel herself start to shake. She couldn't let her resolve fall, but it was getting harder and harder.

"I-I.. I didn't-" Sunshine tried to say, but her voice was failing her. It was getting hard to speak, she felt like her throat was closing up with what couldn't possibly be guilt. She didn't feel guilty. She couldn't.

"Sunshine, don't lie to me," Will said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and she had to fight herself not to slap the hand away. She could practically feel the germs from his hand squirming all over her skin. She wanted him not to touch her, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"I didn't mean to make her forget it all," Sunshine said, her voice cracking slightly. It felt like it was someone else talking, she couldn't possibly be selling herself out like that. "I had never done it before and I guess I did it too much, I-I don't know," Sunshine said, shaking her head. Finally, Will let his hand fall off her shoulder, and she immediately felt slightly better.

"How can we get her memories back?" Will asked, not sounding harsh nor angry, as she expected he would. Sunshine shook her head more, hot tears streaming down her face.

"I-I don't think we can. That's why I was trying to be careful, but when she woke up she didn't even remember me," Sunshine shivered as she remembered her Goddess waking up. The first sentence out of her mouth was 'Who are you?' and nothing seemed to come back, no matter how hard Sunshine tried.

"What did you want her to forget?" Will asked, fighting hard to keep the anger out of his voice. He couldn't stand the idea of Emma not ever remembering anything they had done together. Sunshine breathed in and out deeply a few times before she could calm herself down enough to speak.

"I just wanted her to be safe," Sunshine said in more of a whine. Her voice cracked as she breathed in deeply, burying her face in her hands before breaking out into loud sobs again.

"Sunshine, I need you to first break down this border, then maybe I'll let you go see Emma." Sunshine looked up from her hands, her face red and her eyes shining with tears. She didn't want to have to break down her border, but she just had to see her Goddess again. With a blink the dark walls that surrounded them vanished, being replaced with her ceiling and a visible pathway to the hall. Kurt and Blaine were standing hip-to-hip, watching Will and Sunshine nervously.

"We need to go see Emma," Will said to the boys. He turned to Sunshine, who was still watching him. "You need to stay here, and you better not leave." His tone was stern, and Sunshine couldn't help but nod, her bottom lip between her teeth.

Will and the boys made their way down the hallway quickly and silently. All three of them were too afraid to speak as they hurried back towards Emma's room. They trusted Artie enough, sure, but they didn't like the idea of leaving Emma practically alone for so long. They made it back to Emma's room in record time, the boys panting slightly.

"Emma?" Will asked frantically, throwing open the door to her room. This was the first time Kurt really got a good good look at the inside, as the last time he was in there he just stared at the door. Everything was so clean and white it shined, the lights having to be on. Besides that it probably would have looked a lot more like the room Kurt and Blaine had been sleeping in. It didn't have any Christmas decorations, all the walls and desks completely blank. There were certain areas where the paint was scrubbed off the white walls, from being washed so vigorously.

Emma looked up from the table she was sitting at, five playing cards in her hand. Artie was positioned at the other side of the table, leaning over the side of his tub, a few more cards in his hands. Will allowed himself to calm down upon seeing there was nothing to be nervous about, noticing a little proudly the cards splayed on the table weren't in perfect rows. Maybe there would be a few hidden perks to the memory wipe.

"Go fish," Artie said smugly, and Emma scowled, reaching into the pile of cards. She jumped slightly, the cards in her hand going everywhere upon seeing Will standing frantically in the doorway.

"Hello, Will," Emma said with a smile. Will's face melted into a smile.

"Emma," he said affectionately, walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her still-sitting form. She seemed slightly shocked by the action, but didn't protest. Artie was watching her, smiling.

"So, Will, Emma's told me something pretty interesting about you," Artie teased, and Emma's face went white.

"You wouldn't!" She exclaimed, staring at him skeptically. Artie laughed.

"Oh, I would." Emma shook her head a little, looking shocked.

"Will, I think they need to leave," Emma said quickly, her bottom lip between her teeth. Her face was burning red as Artie continued to smile, looking proud.

"Well," Will said, looking curiously from Emma to Artie. "You can't exactly just send them away like you could have before, I doubt."

"This is good," Artie said, that smile still all over his face. "Because you wouldn't believe what she told me. She told me she thin-"

"No no no!" Emma said loudly, flailing her arms. "You need to leave," she said, biting her lip hard. Almost with a flash Artie was gone, leaving Kurt and Blaine staring at his empty tub, shocked expressions across their face.

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><p>LOLOLOL. That's almost what Artie deserves for being a bad secret keeper. ;D<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

"Oh my- oh my god," Kurt exclaimed, clinging to Blaine, staring wide-eyed at the empty tub. His mouth was gaping open in shock, and he turned his head a little, as if the different perspective would somehow make Artie return. He turned to glare at Emma, who's eyes were wide with shock. "W-What did you do to him?" Kurt asked in the harshest voice he could possibly muster.

"I-I-," Emma stuttered, her eyes fixated on the tub, little ripples of water still rolling from where Artie's body just vanished. "W-where did he go?" Emma finally found her voice, forcing out the first thing that came to mind.

"I should be asking you that!" Kurt said, his eyes still frantically raking over the tub, as if Artie would reappear at any moment. But he never did.

"Well," Will said, examining the situation. "It looks like she can still do things."

"But can she undo them?" Blaine asked, rubbing little circles around Kurt's hand with his thumb, trying to calm Kurt down. Will looked to Emma curiously, who still looked pretty confused by the whole situation.

"Emma, do you think you can bring Artie back?" Will asked soothingly. She spoke slowly, with her eyebrows scrunched together.

"But I didn't _do_ anything," Emma tried to clarify for Will. She would obviously have known if she did something to make her new friend disappear.

"Actually," Will said in a gentle voice. "I'm pretty sure you did," Will took a deep breath, preparing himself for the story he had to tell her. If she wasn't going to start remembering things he would have to go through the grueling process of telling her each one of their stories, bit by bit. He still wasn't even sure if it were fair or not to edit a few of the messier details out, for Emma's sake. Will laughed awkwardly a little at the way Emma was intently staring at him. "I don't know where to start," he admitted.

"We know each other?" She asked slowly. Will nodded.

"Yeah, we have for a long time," he said. She nodded a little, digesting the information.

"Why not start at when we met?" She asked, and it sounded like the perfect idea to him.

"Well, it all started when they called us as Lottery Winners," Will began. While he talked, Emma looked over to Kurt and Blaine. There really was no way she had done that to her new friend Artie earlier. Almost as if testing, she quickly whispered.

"I want them to leave," she said it so quietly it was almost like just her lips were moving, nobody else could hear the sound. Kurt was just standing there enjoying holding Blaine's hand in his when Emma looked over to them and moved her lips. He was about to ask her what she was doing when he blinked. He saw nothing but black for a fraction of a second before his vision returned.

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><p>Will hadn't even noticed Kurt and Blaine disappear for a minute, as he continued talking. He just happened to glance over for confirmation on a point he made. Staring at the empty doorway, he blinked a few times, his voice dropping off. Emma looked at him in concern.<p>

"What's wrong?" Emma asked in a sweet voice.

"Where did Kurt and Blaine go?" Will asked nervously, thinking of Sunshine.

"I think they left," Emma said quickly, her heart beating faster at the lie. She was sure they were fine.

"Oh, well, anyways," Will said, continuing on from where he left off in his story.

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><p>"Not this shit again," Kurt said in an exasperated voice, looking around. He was in one piece, so at least there was that. He had learned to appreciate the little things. Blaine was standing next to him, their hands still clasped together. The air was warm, a slight breeze fluttered through Kurt's bangs. They were standing in a clearing, again, but it definitely wasn't the one they had been transported to the first time.<p>

"I wish that would stop happening," Blaine said, rolling his ankle. It had hit the ground funny, and was a little sore. There was a soft sound as wind swept through the various trees surrounding them, each more ornate and better kept than anything they had encountered on their travels. Some had cracked white trunks, some Kurt identified as Cherry Blossoms, and others neither boy had ever seen in their whole entire life.

They took a step, naturally drifting towards the sound that had always brought them good fortune; the sound of rushing water. Even the ground was suspiciously well kept, a stone pathway leading to different directions throughout the woods. They followed a branch of it to the water, enjoying the scenery on their way. The forest had such a calming effect, they couldn't be on guard even if they wanted to.

The water sound grew louder as they approached the stream. A large marble fountain was visible through the thinning trees, spurting out crystal-clear water that shimmered in the light. A girl with shiny blonde hair was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the stream, the water rising up to her mid-calf. Artie was leaning over the edge, his arms resting a few inches away from her legs. They were talking softly, and neither boy could hear anything but a soft murmur over the sound of the water.

"Hey," Blaine said, as he and Kurt left the forest, following the pathway vertical to the stream. Artie looked up at them, startled.

"There you guys are," Artie said, sounding surprised. Kurt half wondered how Artie got all the way over here from that clearing, but figured he just must have been transported to the stream. "You've been gone for forever."

The blonde girl looked up, soft curls framing her face. Her light blue eyes shined as she smiled in greeting, the white sundress she was wearing fluttering in the soft breeze. Small flowers the same shade as her eyes were woven into her hair, giving off quite an attractive appearance.

"We only left like a minute after you did," Kurt said, assuming Artie was just being dramatic. It really wouldn't be the first time, to be honest. Artie shook his head, looking confused.

"Dude, it's been forever. How long have I been staying with you?" Artie asked the girl, and she seemed to think a minute.

"Well," she began in a soft voice. "It was two days before the Cupcake Parade, when L.T.'s boyfriend broke up with him. Remember?" She asked, a very concerned look etched on her face.

"Oh, yeah," Artie said, a smirk on his lips, as if he was fighting back a laugh. "He was really torn up about that." The girl nodded, her nicely-done hair bobbing.

"Poor guy, right before the celebration."

"Flat out heartless," Artie agreed. Kurt and Blaine shared a look, both feeling extremely out of the loop of some sort of inside joke.

"So," Kurt began, wanting to steer the conversation away from whoever L.T. was. "You've been here for awhile?" Artie looked away from the blonde girl, nodding.

"Yeah, I would say at least a month. Why, what's going on with at that castle? What's his name, Will, and uh, Emma?" Kurt's heart stopped.

"A-A-A month?" Kurt finally ground out, feeling faint. If just that minute translated into a month, oh god how many minutes had they spent there? It would have to of been years since he had been home. Blaine looked at Kurt nervously, watching the color drain from Kurt's face.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, helping Kurt down to sit on the stone pathway. Kurt shook his head, bringing a shaking hand up to fix his hair, a nervous habit.

"Isn't it obvious?" Artie asked Blaine, watching the proceedings with a bored face. Blaine watched in annoyance as Artie reached up to brush a few strands of the blonde girl's hair behind her ear.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Blaine asked, rubbing circles on Kurt's back. Kurt had started breathing heavily, as if he were about to start crying.

"I-If just a minute took a month," Kurt tried to say, his voice quivering. "Then how long has it been since I left my dad?" Blaine's heart sank.

"Oh," was all he could say, as he sat on the path next to Kurt and just thought. "Is it always like that?" He finally asked Artie, although he wasn't sure if Artie would even know.

"Like what?" Artie asked without looking away from the blonde girl. Blaine squirmed a little, trying to figure out how to voice his thoughts.

"A minute to a month, or whatever. Time moving differently in different places."

"Oh," Artie said, still not looking away from Blondie. "Yeah, I dunno," Artie ruffled her hair. They leaned in and rubbed noses and Blaine could have thrown up.

"Seriously, Artie, this is kind of a big deal." Artie didn't even look at him, running his hands through the blonde girl's hair. "Artie! What's wrong with you, can't you see Kurt is really upset about this?" Artie finally looked away, an annoyed expression on his face.

"If it's bothering you two so much why don't you just check up his dad or whatever. Look, you can't just invade on me and my girl after you two have been gone for forever." Blaine just stared.

"Are you serious?" Blaine asked. "We didn't mean to be gone for so long."

"But you still were," Artie looked back to the blonde girl for a second and sighed. "Alright, look. You two should just go back to Finn's for a little while, because quite frankly I need more time with my lady before setting off again. It's been too long, you know. We all need a little break."

"You have a lot of girls," Blaine protested. "Everywhere you go you're surrounded by ladies." Artie shook his head.

"Not anymore," he said, meeting the blonde's eyes with a smile. "I've got my woman back."

"You are sweeter than L.T. on a Tuesday," the blonde girl said, smiling at Artie. Artie seemed to take this as a compliment, shrugging shyly.

"I don't know how I ever survived without you," Artie said, nuzzling her nose. Blaine raised an eyebrow, looking to Kurt for confirmation. Kurt was still sitting there, no longer crying but still looking very, very upset. Blaine didn't like to see Kurt upset like that. Maybe they did need a little break. Nothing bad could happen, they would just be checking up at home, that's all.

"Alright," Blaine said, making an executive decision. "How would we get back, though?" Artie didn't seem to hear him, being too absorbed in his girlfriend or whatever. Blaine repeated the question, with a little more force.

"Oh, uh," Artie said, looking back to Blaine. "What's been helping you this whole way?"

"The necklace?" Blaine said without much thought. Artie shrugged.

"I'm sure it could bring you back, if it brought you here." Artie probably wasn't the best wealth of information right now, but Blaine was kind of desperate to believe anything coming out of that boys mouth if it would cheer Kurt up. Blaine nodded, noticing more than ever before the small weight of the chain on his neck.

"They should come back, you know? So they're well rested?" The blonde girl asked, forming her first understandable sentence. "Besides, you know what tomorrow is," she flashed Artie a bright white smile, which he returned.

"Back where?" Kurt asked, wiping at his red eyes. He smiled up at Blaine, really really liking the idea of getting to see his dad again. He swallowed hard at the thought of his dad, feeling like a hand was clutching his heart.

"To my house," she said, a blissful smile on her lips.

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><p>Kurt and Blaine walked down the pathway, following Artie and the blonde girl. She had partway decided she wanted to hold Artie's hand, yet couldn't do so comfortably while walking, so had jumped in. Some of the clear water had splashed back up, Kurt not having the reflexes to dodge it as he was still kind of out of it. Grumbling slightly, he wiped the water from his face, glaring at Artie. Artie was blissfully unaware, busy trying to teach his little girlfriend how to backstroke.<p>

It was obvious where they were heading, as a giant castle so much like the other two they had seen appeared in the distance. Huh, they always seemed to be pretty happening places. Maybe this blonde girl lived there.

"Is this where you live?" Blaine asked politely, motioning to the upcoming castle.

"Sometimes," the girl said, trying to swim by kicking her feet with more fore than necessary. Blaine absentmindedly moved slightly away, not wanting to get wet. Eventually they made it to the castle, the stream running right up to the side of it. The girl got out, and picked up Artie bridal style without missing a beat. It was kind of sweet, like they had fallen into this routine.

"This is nice," Kurt commented, approving very much of the beautiful landscaping adorning the yard now visible.

"Thank you," she said, taking special caution on the steps, Artie slipping slightly around her hands. Once inside the castle door, Kurt was in flat out shock. This castle was by far his favorite, so much more beautiful than the other castles. The interior design was outstanding, it was obvious Rachel had never stepped foot in here.

The furniture was obviously antique, stained ornately. The floor, instead of marble as the other castles had, was finely cut wood. Everything had an old-timey feel, from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the oil lamps on the walls. Kurt smiled, glad interior design was rated high here. Since, really. It was one of the most important things, right below oxygen and maybe food.

Paintings adorned the walls here, just like they had in every other castle. Only, these were slightly different. Each one they passed was very realistic, some of forests and people, all looking like actual pictures of people. One that really caught Blaine's eye was of three different hands, contorted into different shapes. It was kind of creepy. There was a dark one of a kid on a beach holding a balloon, and one of a pleasant-looking farmhouse.

"Do you two need anything?" The girl asked, her arms still full of Artie. Kurt and Blaine shook their heads in unison. "Alrighty then, I'm going to bring Artie back to our room, then." Her voice trailed off at the end, and Kurt had the suspicion they would both immediately forget about him and Blaine the moment they got to their room. She already seemed oblivious to him and Blaine, her attention completely absorbed by Artie already.

"I love you, Artie," she said, smiling. His reply was faint, as they had rounded a corner.

"I love you, too, Brittany," he said, and she started immediately giggling, their lips gluing together. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least they're happy," Kurt said, turning away from the happy couple.

"Good for them," Blaine said, wondering if Artie was going to be flirting with all his merwomen once they got back to travelling like normal.

"When do you want to go back home?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows scrunched together. Blaine shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. Would Kurt want to meet his parents? That probably wouldn't end well. Blaine wouldn't mind seeing the dad Kurt was so fond of, but understood if Kurt would be uncomfortable with Blaine meeting him.

"I don't know," Blaine said slowly, not sure what Kurt wanted.

"I think the sooner the better," Kurt said shyly, hoping that was what Blaine wanted.

"I agree," Blaine said quickly, a large smile over his lips. Kurt smiled back at the look, happy about the idea of seeing his dad again. Oh, and he would have to see Mercedes.

"How long do you think we should stay?" Kurt asked, trying to decide which would be better, a long or short stay.

"Time doesn't really seem to matter anymore," Blaine said honestly. Kurt blinked a little. He hadn't thought about it like that. But, Blaine had a good point. Giddy, Kurt was about to jump on the idea of an infinite homestay.

"We should go immediately," Kurt said, his excitment shining through his voice.

"I agree," Blaine said, even though he really didn't. It would be nice to see Wes and David again, but honestly, the more he thought about it, the less appealing seeing his parents was. Maybe if they had the time he could stop by for, uh, a few minutes. Maybe.

"Like right now," Kurt said, a giant smile plastered all over his face. Blaine was slightly taken aback by this.

"Shouldn't we, uh, warn Artie? And, er, Brittany or whatever her name was?" Kurt shook his head, that obviously being the least of his concerns.

"I bet they've already forgotten we're here," Kurt interjected, fiddling with the necklace to find the crystal. He held it up to Blaine with shaky hands, knowing how Blaine always liked to give it commands.

"Oh, uh," Blaine began, not really sure how to word his request. "Er, we need to go home," he tried, feeling awkward. "Kurt's home," he clarified without missing a beat, and Kurt smiled at him. In a flash they were gone, Blaine hadn't even had the thought of what they were going to do if it didn't work finish crossing his mind before they were standing in Kurt's living room.

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><p>You see, I'm lucky because I have awesome readers who don't care if I get busy and can't update for a week. That's why you're all awesome, you know. I actually feel really crummy about the wait, but oh well, the new chapter is up now. The whole one update a day thing had a good run but all good things come to an end :c<br>Once I get the time I'll reply to all of your wonderful messages, because I love bullshitting with you guys. Just not Korrigan. God I hate her. I heard she's really a man.  
>Anyways I hope you all like where I'm going with this, as always I would love to hear what you guys wanna see. ;D<br>Oh, uh, also. Pardon any spelling errors or anything, I'm totally exhausted :c


	23. Chapter 23

READ NOW, AUTHORS NOTE LATER~

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><p>Blaine looked around the room in confusion, stepping back from Kurt.<p>

"Things are awful, uh, grey in here," he stated, looking around. Kurt noticed Blaine was right. Things _were_ pretty grey. All the furniture, the pictures, the paint on the walls, the carpet.. They were all varying shades of grey. Even small things like envelopes laying forgotten on a table practically blended in unless you really focused your vision on them. Kurt's eyebrows scrunched together as he looked around, walking down the hallway to where he knew his room was.

"Dad? Hello?" He asked, looking at the odd, greyed pictures hanging on the grey walls. He opened the door to where he knew his room was, but he didn't see the explosion of tasteful decoration and familiarity he was expecting. Everything looked so dull and grey. So boring. He turned to look straight at Blaine, who stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of colorlessness that had become his home. "It's not normally like this," Kurt said, feeling as if he needed to clarify.

"Outside isn't normally like that," Blaine stated, his head turned in the direction of a window. Kurt stepped forward to get a better look, and saw that Blaine was completely right. Outside normally didn't look like that at all. For starters, there was nobody hustling and bustling on the sidewalk, trying to get from place to place as quickly as possible. To be honest, Kurt had never seen the sidewalks completely empty like that before. A shiver ran down his spine when he saw the lack of color outside the window.

"C'mon," Kurt mumbled, taking Blaine's hand, desperate for any bit of color he could find in this messed up world he returned to. "Let's see if we can find someone."

Stepping out of the door to the apartment he and his dad had shared for his whole life and into the hallway, he almost wasn't surprised to see the complete and total lack of color. He was starting to feel a little out of place every time he saw the milky shade of alabaster that was his own hand, or Blaine's detailed hazel eyes. Desperate for any sign of human contact, he knocked on each door he passed, asking loudly if anyone were there. Blaine caught on and slammed his fist down harshly on each door he passed on his side, but to no avail.

"It looks like we're all alone," Blaine stated, his voice sounding slightly out of place against all the quiet that was surrounding them.

"I guess," Kurt said, feeling like he had to say something too, just to see if his voice would still work. The only sound was their footsteps and the click of the door shutting behind them as they exited the apartment building. Kurt wasn't sure what he was expecting the weather to be like outside, but it caught him off guard. It wasn't hot or cold or even warm. It just felt like air surrounding him. There was no light breeze or the hot feeling of the sun on his face. Things were just... stale. And oh so grey. And quiet. And he really really _realllly_ wanted this all to stop.

The boys walked in silence down the street, Kurt not even finding the energy to feel nostalgic about seeing everything he had grown up by. Blaine kept a firm hold of Kurt's hand, half his mind processing the area, this being an important place because, well, Kurt grew up here. Which made the area obviously important to Kurt, thus important to Blaine. It was a nice little place by the looks of things. Not nearly as rich as in Dalton, but it had a little charm to it. The other half of his mind was trying to figure out what was going on. There were no people about, no animals, no fluttering tree leaves. Just nothing. It was too weird.

Eventually Kurt stopped walking, looking at one of the buildings with longing. Blaine held Kurt's hand firmer, wanting to comfort Kurt but not knowing exactly what was troubling him. He debating in his mind whether to prod for information just a second before going full steam ahead.

"What's in there?" Blaine asked slowly, his voice sounding ten times louder than it should have in the silence.

"My friend lived in one of the rooms there," Kurt said, his voice only quivering slightly. Blaine nodded, looking up and down at the dull, grey building. He swallowed dryly, trying to think of what he could say.

"Do you want to go see?" Blaine asked, watching Kurt intently to see how the question would effect him. Kurt didn't say anything, just nodding. Blaine led him towards the building, hoping desperately to find Kurt's friend there.

After a moment of hesitation, Kurt began leading Blaine up the apartment building's steps and through the door. Expertly guiding them up a few floors and down a few hallways, before Blaine knew it he was staring at the door to Kurt's childhood friend's home. Kurt was just staring at the grey door, looking unsure of himself. Blaine swallowed, raising his hand and rapping on the door a few sharp times. It creaked, opening of it's own accord, making Kurt breath in sharply.

"M-Mercedes?" Kurt asked, his voice cracking slightly. Silent tears were streaming down his cheeks as he pushed the door open further, taking a few shaky steps into the room. Blaine didn't say anything, simply following behind Kurt, their hands still connected by a painfully loose grip. "Mercedes?" Kurt tried again, his voice slightly stronger this time. He stepped over a few toys discarded on the carpet of her living room, evidence of her younger siblings having been there.

Everything was so grey and silent and depressing Blaine couldn't help but raise a hand to wipe at his eyes, not liking how much this was upsetting Kurt one bit. Kurt carefully maneuvered himself through the slightly larger apartment. Although signs of life were everywhere, he couldn't find any actual people. There were flowers on a vase on their dinner table, not yet having wilted. They couldn't have been gone very long. No dust had collected on any surfaces for as good as he could see. Armed with this knowledge, he took a few steps towards Mercedes's room, pushing the door open.

Looking around the room, he could have just died. It was almost just as he had remembered it. Her bed was unmade as always, some clothes lying on the floor. Something he would have lectured her about if this had been a different time. She still had a photograph of them together taped to her mirror, and he looked at it although it were him from a different life. He felt so different now. He looked at Blaine, who was looking at him with large, sympathetic eyes. He felt so much better now, he decided, pulling Blaine in for a comforting hug.

"Everything's going to be alright," Blaine mumbled into Kurt's hair, rubbing circles into the slightly taller boy's back. Kurt nodded, sniffling slightly, but at least not breaking down in sobs like he would have expected himself to. "We should get back out there," Blaine said after a few moments, it being obvious what being in this house was doing to Kurt. "We might find someone," Blaine stated, although he seriously doubted that.

"You're right," Kurt said, pulling away from Blaine and wiping at his eyes. Kurt looked up and met eyes with Blaine, and smiled. Blaine noticed the slight red patches on Kurt's face and around his eyes, the way the blue stood out through the thin layer of tears, and he felt like the luckiest man in the world. Taking Kurt's hand, he followed Kurt out of the maze of the building, with happy little butterflies in his stomach. Sure, he felt like a teenage girl, but it was okay, because it was Kurt that was making him feel like this.

They hadn't sooner stepped foot outside the door to the apartment building when a loud boom sounded from the other side of town. Kurt and Blaine met eyes with a panicked expression, not sure whether this was a good or bad thing. Throwing caution to the wind, they bolted towards the direction of the sound. After a few steps the earth started rumbling under their feet, making them both lose their footing. Kurt probably could have caught himself and not fallen, but Blaine had his hand in a death grip when he all but face-planted in the grass.

Kurt caught himself on his hands, doing an awkward roll as the ground rumbled again. Blaine groaned as he sat up, his shoulder throbbing uncomfortably where it had been dislocated after his last tumble. Why couldn't he be as graceful falling as Kurt could? Then again, he thought, remembering Kurt being nothing but a flailing mess when they fell down the snowy slopes, maybe he was just unlucky. Blaine rethought that last statement as Kurt let out a whimper.

"You okay, Baby?" Blaine asked nervously, moving closer to where Kurt laid.

"Yes," Kurt said, his voice shaking. He didn't sound okay.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, looking Kurt up and down. Kurt looked physically okay, besides being stark white.

"I just landed on my wrist funny," Kurt said, breathing in and out deeply before sitting up. "I'll be fine," he said, looking at Blaine with a smile that didn't exactly reach his eyes. Blaine's heart melted, thinking Kurt was absolutely the cutest thing in the world at that moment. He didn't want Blaine to worry about him, it was pretty obvious.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked, playing along. Kurt nodded, trying to stand. He winced slightly when he went to move his injured wrist, which was showing a little swelling. Blaine quickly stood, grabbing Kurt's uninjured arm and helping him up.

"I could have done that myself," Kurt said, dismissing Blaine's act of kindness while being secretly grateful.

"Sorry," Blaine said, smiling slightly. "What do you think that was all about anyways?" Kurt shrugged, looking around the expanse of grey surrounding them curiously.

"Aftershocks?" He proposed, and Blaine nodded.

"That would make sense," Blaine stated. If the loud noise was something hitting the ground, he supposed it was possible it could have made things shake like that. But what would even be big enough to do that? A meteor? A plane, maybe? Wouldn't they have seen or heard something first before that, though?

"Look," Kurt said, pointing to a tree a few yards away from them. "All that shaking didn't even move the leaves," Kurt noted, and he was right. The grey leaves adoring the tree were just as still as ever.

"This doesn't make any sense," Blaine stated, looking around the grey land. That's when he noticed something in the sky. He grabbed Kurt's shoulder, silently pointing out the dark shape against the grey. Kurt's face screwed up in concentration as he tried to decipher what it was.

"Is it a bird?" He asked, feeling like he could almost see small wings flapping.

"Is it a plane?" Blaine asked, because he just couldn't help himself. Kurt looked at him in annoyance.

"Are you serious?" Kurt asked in a dry voice, knowing all too well what Blaine was referring to.

"No," Blaine stated, shaking his head. "You're suppose to exclaim it's Superman," Blaine clarified for him. Kurt didn't have time for a snappy comeback, as practically the moment the last word left Blaine's lips there was another impossibly loud boom, and a flash of black before Kurt and Blaine were knocked back on the ground.

"W-What?" Kurt asked, slowly fighting to sit up as the shock waves still vibrated the ground under him. Blaine made a groaning noise beside him, smart enough to wait until the ground stopped shaking to sit up. He almost didn't believe his eyes. Standing tall and proud was a blonde woman in vintage fighter pilot gear. The goggles of her leather had were pulled up to her forehead, her patched leather pilot's jacket zipped up to protect her from the nonexistent cold. It was almost weird to see someone else in color, tufts of her short blonde hair stuck out from under her brown hat.

There was an awkward screeching noise, and Blaine noticed something else totally bizarre. There was a giant bird thing sticking out of the tree he had just been looking at. Only the tree was now cracked in the center, the giant... bird thing wobbling awkwardly trying to get it's head loose. The woman seemed to regard him for a minute, a blank expression on her face. He couldn't help but stare in awe as the giant bird, oh, looks like Kurt was right, broke free of the tree. It turned on it's pseudochicken legs to face him, and he could feel his jaw drop.

The bird. The bird had a face. Not, like, feathers and a beak and maybe itty bitty bead eyes as you would expect a bird to have. Oh, no. That would be far too normal for this fucked up world he had come to know. It had a practically all-human head, turning thick and feathery at the neck. He had maybe a few inches of forehead and black hair before feathers mixed with the hair, thickening as they went down his head. He had a very tan, bland face with thick black eyebrows.

"What's wrong, Curly-Q?" The woman asked, reaching out a hand. The giant bird-humanish thing walked forward obediently, towering over the woman by a good foot. It dropped to it's knees, resting it's semihuman head on her hand. "You act like you've never seen a Griffin before."

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><p>HEY GUIEZ. I hope you enjoyed the update, I understand fully what a despicable human I am for making you all wait. I think we can all blame Korrigan for the wait. Lmao I just realized I've mentioned her in like every a.n. as of late. Sick.<br>Anyways, It's just kind of been a dry writing patch for me lately. That mixed with lame real life things to do. I started writing this chapter, having not logged into ff in like forever, I haven't even been reading my favorite fics :c But I was so... bored with the idea of this story, I don't know. It's just felt dry for me lately. I keep thinking up way awesomer ideas for fics, like I have this one I can't wait to get started. Of course I won't start a new one until this is done, my pretties ;D But yeah, hopefully that dryness'll change now with the addition of our two favorite characters ;D~  
>TOODLES~<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

"We haven't," Kurt said once he regained his composure. The woman, older, he noted, looked at him with a small smirk.

"Well," she said, looking at her, uh, Griffin for confirmation. "Snow White and Curly Q over here are raising more questions than the oh-so-compromising position we saw Darkie and Lightie in last winter." The Griffin made a snorting noise of either amusement or confirmation, maybe both.

"Do you mean the Dark and Light Queens?" Blaine asked, not really sure who else Darkie and Lightie could refer to. The blonde woman scoffed.

"You only call them that if you're afraid of them. What's up, Babyface? On the run from mean ol' Darkie?"

"What, well, no," Kurt said, trying to figure out how to articulate his and Blaine's situation. "We're Lottery winners," he decided upon saying, because everyone seemed to have at least a little knowledge as to what that was. The blonde woman shared a look with her Griffin again.

"Not exactly sure what that means," the woman said nonchalantly, turning and leading her Griffin away. "Not that I exactly care. But still, I must say, I'm curious. About more than just how you squeezed all of yourself into jeans, Pretty Boy," she said, looking at Kurt, who blushed. They were called skinny jeans and they were quite fashionable, thank you very much.

Kurt and Blaine shared a look, Kurt's being quite annoyed. But they got up and followed the woman, walking a good distance behind her and her giant, semi-human griffin. Kurt's mind was swimming with questions as they walked, and he was pretty sure where she was leading them. They were going to town square, where the Lottery Stage was set up so long ago.

"Why are you here?" Kurt asked slowly, after they had walked awhile. Because, really. That was a pretty good question. He think he would remember a crazy bird lady living there.

"I could ask you the same thing, Porcelain. But that doesn't matter right now," she dismissed. Kurt couldn't disagree more. This actually did matter. It mattered a lot. Why couldn't he just have this one thing. All he wanted to do was see his dad and Mercedes, introduce them to Blaine, but no. He couldn't have that. A crazy blonde woman with a giant bird had to come out of nowhere and turn everything grey and abandoned. He had followed along all this craziness up to now but this was just too much.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, and Kurt turned to see Blaine watching him with a nervous expression. "You look really upset."

"I kind of am," Kurt stated, feeling tired of all of this. He just wanted normal for just one day. Blaine grabbed his hand, smiling at him.

"Don't worry, it'll get better. I promise," Kurt looked at Blaine's smiling face and only wished he could believe him.

* * *

><p>"Let's start here," the woman said, pacing on the Lottery Stage. Kurt was only faintly surprised it was still set up, as it was normally taken down almost directly after the Lottery. Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the ground below the stage, looking up at her curiously. She had been pacing with her Griffin watching intently for quite awhile now, and they had been waiting for her to talk.<p>

"Alright," Kurt said slowly, not sure who should begin their onslaught of questions first. When she didn't say anything, he decided to press on. "What's your name?" He asked, deciding to keep it simple. Everyone likes talking about themselves anyways, right?

"Sue Sylvester to you, Sweetcheeks. Keep that to yourself, I've killed men for having less personal knowledge about me," she adjusted her goggles casually. Blaine stared at her, his mouth open. Did she really just casually mention murder? "What's wrong with you? Besides the fact that you look like you stuck a fork in an electrical socket." Blaine subconsciously brought a hand up to his curly hair. Was it really that bad?

"I like your hair curly," Kurt said, smiling at him. Blaine blushed, shrugging awkwardly.

"That's so sweet I just might have to check my glucose levels," Sue said, grimacing. Her Griffin let out another loud noise of what could have possibly been amusement. Kurt jumped in surprise, watching the animal closely with narrowed eyes. Sue laughed outright. "My Figgy scare you? Or are you just a Jumpy Jill?" Figgy? Was that that things name?

"What did you just say it's name was?" Kurt asked, still nervously watching the animal with the practically human head. Sue made a clicking noise with her tongue.

"That curiosity will come back and bite you in that expertly confined ass of yours, one day, Jill," Sue said, and Kurt felt a pang of annoyance. His name was not Jill or Sweetcheeks or any of the other stupid names that she kept peddling out. "If you must know, his name is Figgy to me, Figgins to you. We go way back." Kurt almost wanted to ask just how she got into a friendship with a giant semihuman Griffin but knew better now than to ask personal information. Sue was crazy and Kurt didn't know exactly what she would do to him.

"Oh," Kurt settled upon saying, trying to keep things safe. He swallowed awkwardly, not sure as to what to say next. He had so many questions but didn't want to set her off, on the chance that she wasn't all just talk.

"So what happened here?" Blaine asked, proving himself much more daring than Kurt.

"What do you mean, Electricboy?" Sue asked, looking at him confused.

"The complete lack of people, and, uh, color," Blaine stated awkwardly. Sue shrugged, looking around.

"It's probably something you two did," she stated, dismissing his question. There was another odd rumbling in the ground, and for a fleeting moment Kurt thought there was going to be another Sue and giant Griffin crashing down soon. Instead, Figgins made a strangled noise in it's throat, flapping it's oversized wings.

"This is my stop, later Laverne and Shirley," Sue stated, jumping off from the stage and pulling her goggles down over her eyes. She landed on Figgins, who was already a few inches off the ground. He flapped his wings a few more times, taking off into the sky with surprising speed. No sooner had their little black spec disappeared in the sky had there been another impossibly loud boom.

It was so loud, neither boy had any idea which direction it came from. It was just everywhere, like Quinn's voice when she announced Lottery winners. The ground rattled and shook, sending the boys haphazardly from side to side. Blaine smacked his head against the ground, sending the world spinning. Everything was black for just a moment, before he heard murmuring voices. He looked around for the source of the noise.

"Huh?" He asked, seeing a few blurry figures walking towards him and Kurt. Kurt squirmed, trying to get steady on the ground. He was really sick of all of these earthquakes, or whatever they were. He looked to the direction Blaine was squinting in, and his insides turned to goo.

"It's been awhile," he said, looking as Finn, Quinn, and Rachel walked up to the Lottery stage casually.

"I'll say," Blaine said, having finally made out who was walking towards them. His head throbbed uncomfortably, but he could ignore it for now.

"Oh, wow, that's so weird," Finn said, looking at Kurt and Blaine, an intently interested expression on his face. "You two are like the least likely people I'd expect to, y'know, find here."

"Ditto," Kurt said, sitting up. Finn looked from Quinn to Rachel nervously.

"What does that mean?" He whispered loudly enough for Kurt and Blaine to still hear him.

"He agrees, Sweetie," Quinn said, patting Finn's shoulder. Rachel was glaring daggers at her, and Kurt could see nothing had changed.

"What are you two _doing_ here?" Rachel asked, her voice shrill. She threw her arms up for emphasis, stomping over to them.

"What are you three doing here?" Kurt asked in a bored voice. He wasn't ready to get all bothered because of Rachel of all people. He knew how divas where. Hell, he considered himself one most of the time. If he just ignored her she would calm down or find someone else to pay attention to her.

"Don't talk to us like that! You two shouldn't be here!" She all but screeched, glaring from the boys to Finn. Finn threw his hands up, taking a step back, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. "Finn! Say something!" She shrieked.

"How've you guys been?" Finn asked. Rachel made a loud noise of annoyance, stomping her foot, her hands balled up in fists. Someone obviously wasn't having a good day.

"We missed them! We missed them again and it's all their fault!" She stomped a few more times, pointing at Kurt and Blaine.

"Missed who?" Kurt asked, looking to Finn. Rachel made another loud noise of annoyance at being ignored, yelling a few more things Kurt didn't care to listen to.

"There's been an unidentified person, supposedly riding a winged creature, most likely a Griffin causing us a lot of problems lately. It looks like we just missed them," Quinn said, looking around. She sighed. "We have a lot of cleaning up to do, guys."

"Oh," Kurt decided upon saying. He didn't know whether to mention he had seen Sue or not, and met eyes with Blaine. Blaine seemed to understand not to mention anything just yet. "What have, uh, they been doing?" Kurt asked, almost letting slip _she_, but catching himself.

"Well," Quinn said, meeting eyes with Rachel. "They're just not very nice people," she settled upon saying. Kurt nodded slowly, still unsure as to how to feel.

"Where is everybody?" He asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. Quinn noticed the nervous expression on his face, and smiled softly.

"They're all okay, don't worry," Quinn stated, and Kurt let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "They'll be back once we have everything cleaned up some."

"That's good," Kurt said, because it was the only way he could articulate his thoughts. He wasn't sure how to go about asking whether his dad was still around, and swallowed awkwardly. "Ahem, um, you wouldn't exactly know if, well it's just that time seemed to of moved differently in different areas we were in, but, uh," Kurt let his voice drift off. Quinn nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry," she said, smiling. Time hasn't moved much since you two left, not here, anyways. It's only been maybe a few months, it's okay." Kurt nodded, feeling too relieved to speak. "But, I must ask. What are you two doing here? Last update we heard you two were travelling with Artie. Puck was kind enough to inform us."

"Oh, right," Blaine said, nodding. "Artie met up with some girl, uh, what was her name again?" Blaine asked Kurt.

"Brittany, I think," Kurt mumbled.

"Right, Brittany. He met up with her and he didn't seem to really want us around much so we decided to try and visit back here." Quinn nodded, a stern expression on her face.

"I understand you wanted to come back and visit, but you really don't have time to waste. Artie should really be more responsible than that. Although, I understand. Him and Brittany were pretty serious for awhile."

"Oh no," Rachel yelled, stomping her foot again. Kurt rolled his eyes. "You two were so close, Quinn, don't you dare baby them. I can't believe it, you two are the most immature, ridiculous, pathetic excuses fo-"

"Yeah, yeah, we're terrible, right," Kurt said, waving Rachel off. "What's her problem?"

"She's a little mad we keep missing whoever did all of this," Quinn said, gesturing to the expanse of grey surrounding them.

"No I am not! I'm mad that they're so irresponsible! They were right there! They had her right there and I doubt they even exchanged two words with her!"

"With who?" Kurt asked, confused as to who Rachel was referring to.

"She kind of has a point. The Light Queen, Kurt. You two must have made it to the Light Lands, then promptly left. You really set yourselves back, by a lot, by coming here." Kurt could have just died.

"Are you serious?" Kurt asked, incredibly mad at himself. He couldn't believe they did something that stupid.

"Not one of our better ideas," Blaine agreed, feeling the same sense of shame. Quinn sighed.

"It's alright, nothing to get mad about. Let's get back to the castle and we'll decide what to do. Come on, now," Quinn said, leading Kurt and Blaine away from the Lottery Stage.

* * *

><p>Kurt immediately fell over upon hitting the ground, the vibrations moving out to rumble the castle itself. Quinn, Finn, and Rachel hadn't come on a Griffin as Kurt almost would have expected due to the whole... slamming into the ground thing. Instead they just had a way to transport themselves places, almost like the necklace does. Only, well, a little sloppier.<p>

Blaine fell right on top of him, as ungraceful as ever. Kurt shoved Blaine off unceremoniously, the castle being just as he had remembered. Not like he had a lot of time to forget, as they had come across a new one with the same layout quite frequently. It was still nice to see, what was in his mind, the original castle. No matter how messed up the feeling was, he almost felt like he was home. More than he felt when he was actually home, anyways.

They followed Finn, Quinn, and Rachel into the oh-so-familiar castle, the familiar marble floors still as bright and gleaming as before. So what if it had only been a few months. Both boys had experienced more in those months than either had in their whole entire life, and it felt like it had been beyond forever. Best of all, no matter how fucked up things seemed sometimes, they got to experience it together. That counted for something, right?

Blaine looked over at Kurt, and remembered how he felt when he had first laid eyes on him, in this same corridor, what felt like forever ago. Kurt was obviously the most attractive guy he had ever seen, no contest. His insides still squirmed around happily when Kurt looked at him just right. Kind of like right now, he noticed, as his insides came to life when he met eyes with Kurt.

"You two might as well stay the night," Quinn stated, fixing the buttons on Finn's shirt. "It's too late to think of anything to do now, I'll see if we can get ahold of Artie in the morning. Maybe we can work things out with Brittany. At least we have a guy in there so she's not totally secluded. Are you two okay with staying?"

"Sure," Kurt stated.

"No problem," Blaine agreed. Quinn smiled and nodded.

"Well, I suppose you two know where everything is just as good as anyone. We'll find each other later. I'm sorry, I'm just exhausted. Can you believe that was the eighth area they got so far?" Kurt and Blaine shared a look, shrugged.

"S'pretty bad," Blaine stated, not really sure exactly how bad it was.

* * *

><p>Yay, a quick update. I think we can all agree with how awesome I am. I wasn't originally going to have them stay the night at the castle, I was going to have them immediately go their separate ways, but I wanted smut next chapter and it's the best setup I could think of. Oh, yeah, SMUT NEXT CHAPTER WEEEE~<p> 


	25. Chapter 25

Hello, all. I apologize for the long wait, and I'll have you know I have absolutely no excuse for it. We'll just blame Korrigan, it's easier that way :B

If it makes you feel any better I'm giving you heaping loads of smutty smut smut smut. I know at least one of you all just don't roll that way, so I'll have you know you can scroll down the end, where there's another line break. I tacked on some plot for you guys, because I DO NOT DISCRIMINATE. Have fun, my children~~~~ Enjoy my poorly written and probably typo laden Klaine porn~ ;o

* * *

><p>"<em>Blainnee<em>," Kurt whined, erupting into laughter as Blaine darted back down, licking strips up Kurt's ticklish abdomen. Kurt's fingers were tangled into Blaine's soft, curly hair, and his insides turned to goo when Blaine looked up and their eyes met. He started noticing little things about Blaine over their course of, well, physicality.

He had understood almost immediately why everything always seemed so centered around sex. It was, for lack of a better word, awesome. He absolutely loved everything about it in a way he never really thought he would have before. Everything was still so new and exciting, and no matter what they did he always enjoyed it.

He loved everything they had done so far, but there was still so much more for them to explore. This was where the problem lied. You see, he loved just going with the flow, following Blaine along whatever path he led them in the bedroom. It wasn't that Kurt hadn't ever _thought_ about doing this kind of stuff. Bedroom stuff. He thought about it a lot, even before he knew Blaine.

It's just, there was a lot he didn't know. He knew about... oh god. Even the thought made his face burn. You know. _That_. As in... All the way. The whole process seemed about eight times more complicated, for obvious reasons. Only once or twice during especially crazy masturbation adventures of his had his hands, or rather fingers, ventured _there_.

It felt odd and not entirely uncomfortable, although when he got too carried away he really didn't like it. But as Blaine's hands ran up his sides, Kurt couldn't help but think the whole experience would be different if Blaine were the one in control. Kurt faintly registered the feeling of Blaine's mouth stopping it's downward trek.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, scooting up and giving Kurt a small peck beside his mouth. They were currently in a light yellow room, nothing too elaborate or obnoxious, which was a rarity in Finn's Castle. Kurt mulled over his thoughts a little, thinking about whether or not to tell Blaine what he had been thinking. He could hold off, but when else would they get couple time like this? Probably not for a very long time, but it was hard to tell. Everyday was a new adventure.

"I was just, well," Kurt began awkwardly, his face burning. Blaine waited patiently, giving Kurt another little peck to prod him along. "Do you ever think about us, like," Kurt breathed in and out quickly, steeling his nerves. "Like doing it?"

"Sometimes," Blaine answered honestly, and Kurt could breath again. Blaine was trying to play things cool and not come across as pushy, but he could physically feel the blood pumping to his groin at the thought. In actuality it had been all he could really think of ever since the first time they had done anything. Hell, even before it to be honest. He knew Kurt wasn't the type to just run into anything, but every time things had gotten even a little heated Blaine couldn't help but hope this was the time.

"I do too, sometimes," Kurt said, faintly seeing more than the outline of Blaine's face and his shining eyes in the dark room. Some spit was still glistening on his lips in the dim light, and Kurt was captivated by the sight.

"Yeah?" Blaine asked, leaning in to kiss Kurt on his mouth. The kiss was tender and sweet, Blaine's lips slowly moving against Kurt's. Kurt groaned, wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulders, gently scratching his nails down Blaine's bare back.

"Mhmm," Kurt mumbled deep in his throat, as their bodies started moving slowly against each others. Their hands slowly moved around, rubbing and grabbing as they ground against each other slightly faster. Blaine had already shed his shirt, and Kurt's was pooled at his waist. Their pants were coming uncomfortably tight, both boys feeling like they needed less clothes.

"What do you want to do," Blaine asked, placing kisses all up Kurt's neck. Kurt craned his neck to the side, breathing deeply as he spread his legs more, grinding up to meet Blaine's thrust.

"I-I don't know," Kurt replied honestly. It seemed like such an appealing idea, but, he wasn't really sure on all the mechanics. "D-Do you know how?"

"To what?" Blaine asked, having kissed his way up to Kurt's ear. He took the lobe into his mouth, sucking on it lightly. "How we could fuck? I think I've fantasized about it enough to be more than capable," Blaine said, his smooth, deep voice traveling right into Kurt's ear, making him moan. Kurt's face was burning at the vulgarness of Blaine's words, yet it was quite possibly the hottest thing he had ever heard.

"Blaine," Kurt said, digging his nails into his lover's back. "You can't just say that kind of stuff," Kurt warned. He could feel Blaine smile against his jaw.

"Why not?" Blaine asked, feeling the way Kurt's erection was swelling through his pants. "You seem to be enjoying it," Blaine stated. Before Kurt could respond Blaine snuck his hand between their bodies, rubbing lightly at Kurt's cock through his pants.

"Mmmm, Blaine," Kurt sighed, thrusting up into Blaine's open palm. Kurt felt Blaine's erection digging into his thigh, and let his hands drift down from Blaine's back to the button on the top of Blaine's pants, quickly undoing it. Blaine gave a small sigh of relief as Kurt tugged the zipper down, easing the pressure on his aching cock. "I think I want to," Blaine's heart rate immediately climbed at Kurt's words, his brain morphing everything into a haze of lust.

Blaine shifted to straddle Kurt's thighs, undoing his pants in a flash and tugging at the restricting material desperately. Kurt shifted his body, trying to kick them off as Blaine moved to finish removing Kurt's tangled shirt. They stripped down in record time, only momentarily becoming tangled in all the clothes being thrown around. Before Kurt even processed what was going on they were both completely naked, Blaine pulling him in for another heated kiss.

"You're just so," Blaine tried to articulate, his heart pounding in his ears. His hands dug painfully into every bit of Kurt he could grab, crushing their lips together again. "God," he mumbled before their lips crashed together again, erections grinding together. Kurt gasped, digging his nails into Blaine's back.

"Blaine," Kurt moaned, because he felt like it was the only word he really remembered how to say at this point.

"Do you," Blaine tried to form his question, panting against Kurt's lips. It took him a few tries to form a coherent sentence. "Would you want to bottom?" Blaine finally spit out. His question made Kurt flush even more if that were possible. Just the thought of the erection currently digging into his hip being _inside_ him made his body ache with desire.

"Yes," Kurt said throatily, finding it hard to form words in his lust induced state. He almost immediately regretted saying anything, as Blaine sat up, sitting between Kurt's spread legs instead of laying there, grinding against him as Blaine was suppose to. Kurt was on edge, eight times of offended at the lack of friction against his cock and the pressure of Blaine's body against his. "Why'd you stop?" Kurt asked, taking a few calming breaths to try and get a hold on himself.

"We'll need to prep you, I can't just plunge in," Blaine answered, and it wasn't nearly as awkward as Kurt thought these types of discussions should be.

"Oh," was all Kurt could manage to say, nodding slightly. "That makes sense."

"Look," Blaine said, leaning down and giving Kurt a tender kiss on his mouth. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Blaine trailed a hand softly down the side of Kurt's face, and the moment was so shockingly intimate, hitting Kurt like a brick wall.

"I love you," Kurt said softly, wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. Blaine was momentarily stunned to silence as Kurt nuzzled into his hair. He seriously hoped it wasn't just the moment that made Kurt say that, because that was exactly how Blaine had been feeling about Kurt for god knows how long now.

"I love you, too," Blaine finally said, and that was that. Neither boy could stop even if they wanted to, their sweet embrace turning into something slightly more heated as hands started to wander. They were both still semi hard, despite the moment they just shared, but their previous erections were soon recovered.

"How would I get prepped?" Kurt asked Blaine softly. Although he had a semi solid idea on how everything was suppose to go down, he wanted to make sure he and Blaine were on the same page before starting anything. Blaine looked a little awkward, swallowing slightly before replying. Blaine had always been at least a little dominant in the bedroom, so it wasn't an unwelcome sight to Kurt's eyes to see Blaine unsure of himself. It made Kurt feel like they were both on an equal playing field when it came to, well, actual sex.

"I would have to stretch you first," Blaine said, feeling a flush rise to his cheeks. Kurt nodded, and Blaine breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't ever done anything like _that_, not that either of them were really opposed. It's just.. Not something either of them had ever talked about before. "I think it might hurt a little bit," Blaine said honestly.

"Then we should get it over with," Kurt answered, smiling slightly at how bad he made Blaine blush. Blaine nodded once he finally got a hold on himself, sitting up slightly between Kurt's legs. Blaine extended his fingers to Kurt's mouth.

"Suck," he stated firmly, and no sooner had the word left his mouth had Kurt taken his fingers into his mouth. Blaine bit his lip, trying to concentrate on anything but how Kurt's tongue was running between and around his fingers, swallowing around them as he got them lubricated. Oh god Kurt could probably make Blaine lose it from just this little mouth trick, and Blaine was pretty sure Kurt knew it. "T-That's enough," Blaine said, sliding his spit-slicked fingers from Kurt's hot mouth.

Kurt made a small noise of disappointment, obviously enjoying teasing Blaine. Blaine gave him a small smile, his eyes drifting down Kurt's beautiful body, past his cock, to the area he was expected to invade. Blaine decided then and there that Kurt was the most beautiful when he was spread out beneath him. Kurt tilted his head to the side, watching Blaine curiously. When Blaine noticed this he gave Kurt a small smile, letting his fingers drift to the area directly beneath Kurt's scrotum.

The tip of his wet index finger brushed against Kurt's entrance, earning him a small sigh from his lover. Kurt spread his legs more, giving Blaine a full view of everything he had to offer. Whether Kurt did this on purpose or not Blaine didn't know, but it was driving him crazy. Blaine carefully pushed his index finger inside Kurt to the first knuckle, watching carefully to gauge a reaction. Kurt nodded a little, urging Blaine on with a downwards roll of his hips.

Blaine pushed his finger all the way in, stopping to give Kurt time to adjust.

"How does it feel?" Blaine asked curiously. It felt amazing on his part, Kurt's tight walls constricting and relaxing around him as Kurt tried to get used to the odd intrusion. The only thing was, Blaine wasn't sure how he was suppose to actually fit in there. It felt so tight and hot and there was just no way.

"Weird," Kurt answered honestly, his voice sounding strained. "Start moving," he suggested, and Blaine started slowly pumping his finger in and out, watching Kurt carefully. Kurt couldn't really classify Blaine's intrusion by any other word than 'weird', to be honest. It wasn't excruciatingly painful, but it wasn't on the level of blowjobs or any direct other direct stimulation he had experienced. It felt much, much more intimate than he felt possible, a part of Blaine being inside him and all. "Another?" Kurt asked, and he immediately regretted it.

Blaine pulled out, returning his index with his middle, sinking them all the way in. Kurt didn't have much of a problem with just one, Blaine didn't think just another finger would make much of a difference. Probably not one of his better ideas. Kurt immediately tightened around him, making an uncomfortable face. Blaine put his free hand on Kurt's thigh, rubbing the skin there gingerly in an effort to comfort him.

"Kurt? Are you okay?" Blaine asked softly. Kurt nodded, trying to loosen himself around Blaine.

"Just keep moving," Kurt said slowly, grinding down, forcing Blaine's fingers in deeper. Blaine complied, pumping his fingers in and out slowly, trying to give Kurt time to get used to the sensation. He scissored his fingers, stretching Kurt out. A low whine erupted from Kurt's throat, the first proof Kurt was actually enjoying this. Blaine smiled, moving his fingers in and out quicker, angling them differently, occasionally earning breathy groans or content sighs. "Another," Kurt sighed, visibly enjoying himself.

Blaine carefully worked in his third finger, going much slower than last time. Kurt didn't show any signs of discomfort, instead rolling down his hips, encouraging Blaine to invade him. Blaine forced his fingers in and out with increasing roughness, Kurt squirming around, moaning loudly at the mixed feelings of pain and pleasure. The sight was getting Blaine so hot he almost couldn't control himself, and he knew he needed enter Kurt soon or this would all be over.

"D-Do you think you're ready?" Blaine asked, pulling his fingers out of Kurt, who let out a small whine at the emptiness.

"God, yes, Blaine," Kurt said, panting. "I want you," Blaine spit as much as he could on his still-slick hand, wrapping it around his aching cock and giving it a few pumps to spread the saliva evenly. He looked at Kurt, who was sprawled out under him, desperate and willing. There was a thin sheen of sweat over his porcelain skin, his cock reddening and leaking, standing straight up against his stomach.

"God, Kurt," Blaine sighed, aligning himself with Kurt's entrance. The head of his painfully hard cock brushed against Kurt's still-wet hole, making them both shudder. Oh, he was not going to last long. Blaine pushed slowly and gently, feeling like a wave hit him as the sensitive head of his cock pushed through Kurt's impossibly tight hole. He moaned loudly, his eyes squeezed shut, having to will himself not to finish then and there. Kurt just felt_ so good._

"More," Kurt breathed, pushing his hips down, taking in another inch of Blaine's thick cock. He shuddered at the feeling of complete fullness that was resting on him, and he still had to figure out how he was going to fit in the other half of Blaine's cock. Blaine pushed more in, and Kurt felt like he was going to scream. There was just no more room in him, the comfortable feeling of being full pushed past to the painful stretch of too much.

"You feel so good," Blaine sighed, laying flush on top of Kurt, adorning his neck with kisses. Kurt made a strained noise in his throat as Blaine slid more in, an uncomfortable burning sensation setting in. His thighs started to tremble on either side of Blaine, and he let out a low whine.

"Blaine," Kurt warned, placing his hand firmly on Blaine's back. "Just give me a minute," Kurt whispered into Blaine's hair, who complied immediately. Kurt laid there, his hand tenderly running up and down the length of Blaine's back as he tried to will himself to adjust to the intrusion. It wasn't long before the soreness subsided, still uncomfortable but not insanely so. "Okay," Kurt said, his eyes squeezed shut, preparing for more pain. But it never came.

Blaine pushed in slowly until his cock was fully sheathed inside Kurt. Kurt sighed, feeling full and complete with Blaine inside him and maybe a little sore but it was a good kind of sore that made his toes curl and him dig his fingernails into Blaine's back. Blaine had every intention of waiting for Kurt to get adjusted, but when Kurt rocked back against his cock, whimpering and begging for it, Blaine couldn't help but comply.

Pulling out carefully, they both shared a groan at the loss of stimulation. Blaine slammed back in, Kurt whimpered, wrapping his legs around Blaine's hips, forcing him in deeper. Blaine rocked in and out, never pulling out more than halfway before thrusting back in. They built up a rhythm, steadily building in speed and strength. Blaine experimented with hitting a different area with each thrust, taking note of the different reactions he gained.

He thrust up, hitting higher than he had yet. Kurt made a noise in the back of his throat, tensing up. Blaine whimpered, Kurt's walls tightening around his cock.

"B-Blaine," Kurt whined desperately. "Again, please, Blaine," Kurt begged, and Blaine really did like the sound of Kurt begging for anything from him. He pulled out, thrusting back in roughly, hitting the same spot. It gained the same reaction, Kurt's walls clamping down on his dick even harder than before. Blaine captured Kurt's lips in a sloppy kiss as he thrust in and out, hitting that little spot inside Kurt every single time.

Kurt couldn't help but squirm, meeting each of Blaine's thrusts. Every time Blaine's cock hit that bundle of nerves deep inside him, jolts of pleasure stabbed up his spine. Kurt felt Blaine's cock growing inside him, nearing orgasm. His own cock was trapped in the heat of their torsos, twitching slightly every time Blaine hit that spot just right. He felt that heat in the pit of his stomach, and he knew this was all going to be over soon.

Blaine thrust in and out of Kurt one, two, three more times until he couldn't take any of this anymore, his heart hammering in his ears as he coated Kurt's insides with his hot seed. Kurt came right after him with a shudder, the feeling of Blaine's orgasm proving to be too much. Blaine rode him nice and slow throughout, lengthening their orgasms. He didn't pull out until Kurt's hole stopped spasming, wincing at the intense feeling of his ultra sensitive cock sliding out.

"I love you," Blaine said, rolling off of Kurt to lay beside him, staring up at the ceiling. Both boys were out of breath, and Blaine noticed a flush across Kurt's cheeks, extending down his front. There was an obscene pool of Kurt's own seed splashed across his abdomen, and if Blaine hadn't just had the orgasm of his life he would be hard again in an instant.

"I love you, too," Kurt answered once he caught his breath. Blaine wrapped an arm over Kurt's front, kissing his cheek softly. The skin under his lips was hot to the touch. Blaine was fully content with falling asleep like that, pressed up against Kurt's side, marveling in the afterglow of their act with him. That's why he was pretty surprised when Kurt stood up, getting out of bed a few minutes later.

"Wha-?" Blaine asked, already feeling sleep take it's hold. Kurt shot him a disgusted look.

"Aren't you going to get cleaned up before falling asleep?" Kurt asked, giving Blaine a scrutinizing glance. Blaine could only imagine how disheveled and sloppy he looked, but not like he cared. Who has the energy to shower after sex, anyways?

"I don't plan on it," Blaine said honestly. Kurt sighed, walking towards the bathroom of the large room shaking his head. Blaine just didn't get it, did he? He could break out if he just fell asleep with all that sweat on his skin. Oh well, he'd learn soon enough, Kurt reasoned, shutting the bathroom door behind him, successfully silencing Blaine's pleas for Kurt to come back to bed to cuddle.

* * *

><p>The next day, neither Kurt nor Blaine could stifle the large grins on their faces as they roamed the halls of the castle aimlessly. Every time their eyes met, they would fall into a fit of giggles over what happened last night. It was like they were teenage girls who just had their first kiss, but they wouldn't want it any other way.<p>

All the troubles they had been experiencing lately just seemed to melt away as Kurt laughed at something Blaine said. They strode down the hallway, just looking for something to do or catch their attention, as they always felt like they had all the time in the world when in a castle. It was like the rest of the world slowed down, which was entirely possible. Blaine took Kurt's hand in his, and they fell into a stepping rhythm as they rounded a corner, coming to an abrupt stop when they saw who was waiting for them around the bend.

It was _her_. Sue Sylvester was what she called herself, wasn't it? Standing tall and proud, an arm slung casually around her giant freakishly semi-human Griffin. Figgy or Figgins or whatever she called it. She had a colorful map out, and looked to be consulting something with him. Both Kurt and Blaine knew two things for certain. One, she was not suppose to be there, and two, she was more than likely up to no good. Finn, Quinn, and Rachel didn't leave the castle unless it was an emergency.

"Fancy seeing you two here," Sue said simply, folding up her colorful map. Kurt and Blaine shared a look, both too confused to speak. Sue didn't seem to notice how awkward or uncomfortable the situation was, and continued to speak. "You two really helped me out back there," Sue continued, and neither boy knew what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, feeling bold. Sue looked at Kurt and Blaine in confusion, almost as if she didn't notice them being there. Maybe she just wasn't expecting them to speak.

"When the Golden Trio were questioning you two. You played dumb. I like that in a man."

"Oh," Kurt answered, slightly taken aback. He remembered choosing not to say anything about her name, for better or worse. He seriously doubted that was her real name anyways. "Well, you're welcome," he said slowly, not sure what she wanted to gain from this conversation.

"Sissy words," Sue said, waving his thanks off. "Words mean nothing. But I'll tell you what does mean something. Actions."

"Are you hitting on us?" Blaine asked in an annoyed voice, his eyebrows scrunched up.

"Not a chance, I can spot a Rainbow Warrior a mile away," Sue said, and Kurt and Blaine shared an annoyed look. "As I was saying, I really appreciated what you did back there. It took guts. You two are something special, I can feel it in my ovaries. So, let me tell you what. I'm going to help you out here."

"That won't be nec-" Kurt began, really not liking the idea of accepting anything from this woman. She held up a hand to silence him, and it worked. He shut his mouth midword, letting her speak.

"It is not up for negotiation," she said firmly.

"What is it, then?" Blaine asked slowly, figuring they could at least somehow scream for Finn or Rachel if things got out of hands. Actually, probably Quinn, as she seemed to be the most capable of the three most the time. Sue flashed him a carnivorous smile, and he swallowed involuntarily.

"I'm going to show you how to get to Darkie's castle."

* * *

><p>Ah, yes, I am such a fair and beautiful Authoress. I say you guys show me your gratitude if you know what I'm sayin'. I did stay up really late to finish this, yeah. And I have class in the morning.<p>

Jesus I seriously have some nerve, negotiating after making you guys wait so long. I do apologize for that, I just really haven't been feeling this story at all lately. It's a cycle thing with me. Bear with me on this, the story is nearing the end. To be honest, I'm a little nervous since I don't normally write these super long and extravagant stories, and I just don't want to mess things up at the end. You've all been so awesome and understanding, I feel like I owe it to you all to vomit up the best story I can.

Anyways the 'Are you hitting on us' line is dedicated to my friend Alii because it made her happy. I think that's all. Bye guys. xoxooxo~


	26. Chapter 26

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked as he and Blaine followed Sue down a seemingly unused hallway. She didn't say anything, continuing to lead them down the hall.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear. Kurt nodded.

"Tell me about it," he replied, wrapping his arm around Blaine's shoulders. When Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist, Kurt couldn't help but feel a little safer. The fell into a step, walking in sync. Their minds were so caught up in each other they almost didn't notice when Sue stopped walking. Kurt held Blaine back at the last second, or else they would have walked smack into her.

"Here we go," she said simply, extending an arm to what looked like nothing. Kurt looked down the hall, seeing nothing but a feel obviously unused doors and some paintings.

"I don't really see what you mean," Blaine said, looking at the different doors curiously. Each door had a different surprise behind it usually, so it wouldn't be too out of the normal for something crazy to be hiding behind one. He almost even half expected whoever the Dark Queen was to be bound and gagged behind one of the doors with a little 'you're welcome' note from Sue.

"Are you blind?" Sue asked, looking annoyed. "It's right there," she flung her arm again, pointing towards seemingly nothing. "The picture," she clarified. Kurt looked, seeing a few paintings. None of them really stood out to him, and he was pretty confused as to what she meant.

"I don't get it," Kurt said honestly, preparing for Sue to lash out on him. Surprisingly, her face softened slightly.

"You've never used the pictures to get around?" She asked slowly. Blaine and Kurt shook their heads no. "You've wasted a lot of time. Let me show you," she motioned them over to a specific picture. It was a suspiciously familiar portrait of a boy holding a red balloon on a dark beach. Kurt could have sworn he had seen it before, maybe in one of the other castles. But, there were just so many pictures everywhere it was hard to tell. They were all blended together in his mind.

"I think I've seen that one before," Blaine said, perfectly voicing out Kurt's thoughts. Sue raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I would imagine," she said. "You two should pay more attention to your surroundings and less to each other."

"Well, we're not exactly," Blaine tried to defend him and Kurt, but Sue cut him off.

"I don't care much about your pathetic excuses," Sue said in a bored voice, and Kurt had to remind himself she was helping them. "Now put your hands on top of the picture frame, and pull." Kurt thought that sounded pretty suspicious, and wasn't entirely sure whether or not Sue was just setting them up. Seemed like something she would do, anyways. "Hurry up now," Sue said, sounding annoyed.

Blaine took a step forward, towards the picture, and did as Sue instructed. At first the frame wobbled slightly, then swung open as if on hinges. Blaine jumped out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding being crushed against the wall. His heart thudded against his chest as he glared at Sue.

"You didn't mention that would happen," he said in an annoyed voice. Sue shrugged, seeming intently interested in her fingernails.

"Must have slipped my mind," she said without much thought. Kurt and Blaine shared an annoyed look before turning to look at the space where the picture used to be. There was a gaping hole in the wall, blackness seeming to be seeping out of it. A cold chill blew in from the hole in the wall, making Kurt shiver. Nervousness bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he peered in, trying to get a better look of inside.

As his vision cleared more, getting used to the dark, it almost looked like a hallway similar to the one they were in now. Only so dark and so cold. Blaine bit his lip, having an internal debate. He was okay with going in there himself if need be, but he wouldn't want to drag Kurt along with him. Even if Kurt thought it wasn't fair, there was no way Blaine was letting him go in there. He couldn't even tell if there was anyone, or anything on the other side, it was so dark.

He turned to tell Sue and Kurt about this when he was abruptly shoved, going headfirst through the portal in the wall. His knees caught on the bottom part of the wall, making him do an awkward flip. He groaned as he felt Kurt land on top of him, who immediately apologized and scrambled off. The rectangle of light that was glaring through the portal immediately started thinning as Sue shut the frame.

"Hey, wait," Blaine said, trying to get up, but he felt so disorientated.

"Have fun and learn lots," Sue said before slamming the portrait shut, emerging Kurt and Blaine into total darkness. Kurt squirmed slightly, waiting for his vision to adjust to the darkness. His jaw chattered as the coldness surrounded him, feeling like it was chilling him to the bone.

"I hate her," he said simply, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around then. He buried his face into his knees, trying to stay warm. It was just such a weird type of cold, he had never felt anything like it before. It was such a horrible time to realize, as Kurt reached for their necklace, that they hadn't had it on for who knows how long now.

"What a horrible time to realize we lost it," Blaine said, having just reached for it himself. There was a slight whimper in his voice as he shivered. "When did that even happen?"

"I don't know, Blaine," Kurt said, looking up from his knees. The corridor seemed almost more lighted now as his eyes had adjusted. It _did_ look similar to other castle hallways, the dark outlines of what looked like doors and paintings littered the long hall. Every other castle was so lived in and personalized it was almost sad to see one in this shape.

"Wait, Kurt," Blaine said suddenly, and Kurt could hear him moving around beside him to sit up. Blaine scooted by Kurt, wrapping his arm around Kurt's shoulders to try and keep him warm. Kurt looked, faintly making out some features of Blaine's face in the dark. "Remember a really long time ago, when we were talking to Finn?" Blaine began.

"I don't know, Blaine, I never usually listened to him when he spoke," Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. There was a small amount of heat radiating off Blaine's body and Kurt just wanted all of it.

"But he was talking about getting lost in the castle, he said he got lost at that portrait, if you remember," Blaine could almost see the white clouds of his breath as he spoke.

"I remember, I guess," Kurt said, remembering the conversation slightly. "You wouldn't think he would," Kurt began, finally realizing what Blaine was getting at.

"I think so. He might have accidentally ended up here," Blaine said excitedly, everything seeming to come together. "I just don't remember how he said he got back."

"Well, he never said anything about it being cold and dark, Blaine," Kurt said, shrugging off Blaine's arm and trying to stand up. If they just sat there he was almost totally positive they would freeze. He experimented by pushing on the dark outline of the portrait. Instead of being the frame's back, as he would have expected, it felt like the front of a similar painting. Kurt swore, the coldness of the air starting to rub off on him. Blaine stood, wrapping an arm around him.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said, leaning in to give Kurt a small peck on the cheek. He had only wanted to calm Kurt down a little, but it did the exact opposite.

"Don't touch me right now, Blaine," Kurt almost yelled, squirming out of Blaine's grasp. His heart thudded wildly in his chest, anger prickling up his spine. If Blaine hadn't listened to Sue and opened the painting that led them here, none of this would be happening. Blaine opened his mouth and began to say something, but Kurt cut him off. "I don't want to here it. I just want to go home."

Maybe he was being a little mean but he couldn't help it. He was cold and angry and it was dark and he just wanted nothing to do with any of this. He never asked for any of this. He loved Blaine but he just didn't want to be touched right now. He headed off down the corridor, internally fuming. Blaine followed at a distance, feeling hurt. He wanted to say something but he just didn't know how to voice it.

The only sound was the slight clicking of their shoes on the cold marble floor as they simply walked. Blaine kept his distance, too nervous to get close to Kurt. Eventually Kurt stopped abruptly, after they had rounded a corner. He stared at a door similar to all the others, and breathed in and out deeply to steel himself.

"Start trying the doors," he said without looking at Blaine. Blaine nodded, knowing Kurt probably couldn't see him but, he didn't want to talk to him right now anyways. He walked up to the nearest door, big and oak and almost ominous in all the dark. He put his hand on the icy cold knob, trying to turn it. It was locked. He heard Kurt tug on the door opposite to him, and didn't hear it budge. They tried a few more before coming to the agreement that they were all locked. Blaine swallowed awkwardly, started to get nervous.

"Kurt," he began, not really sure what he wanted to say. Kurt turned, glaring him down.

"What do you want?" Kurt asked with an icy tone. He gave Blaine his best bitch glare, hardly even aware that Blaine couldn't receive the full blow. Something snapped inside Blaine, and he couldn't hold his words back.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is but you need to calm down." Kurt wanted to scream. Blaine had no right talking to him like that, it wasn't _his_ fault this was all happening. It was Blaine's.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down, Blaine," Kurt said, his angry voice rising.

"Just tell me what's wrong! You never keep things from me, and something's bothering you. I want to help you out."

"I don't want you to help me out, look at how good things have turned out because of you," a flush was rising in Kurt's cheeks as a cold breeze whipped around them.

Blaine opened his mouth, about to say something, but stopped himself. Kurt didn't have a right to lash out on him like that. As Blaine breathed in and out the cold air, he felt himself getting more and more annoyed about what happened. Kurt liked to strut around like a little princess who could never do any wrong and that was not the case. The longer Blaine thought about it the madder he got, to the point where he felt like he just couldn't take it any more.

He crossed his arms around his chest, feeling like it was getting colder. The floor was started to get slightly wet, like it was somehow collecting moisture from the air. Kurt hadn't noticed this fact as he tried to strut ahead, keeping his lead from Blaine, who was treading carefully. His foot slipped awkwardly and he fell backwards.

Blaine saw this coming, reaching out and catching Kurt by the shoulders. Kurt let out a loud whimper, flailing his arms around, causing Blaine to slip too. His arms broke his fall as his hit the floor, and they both started sliding downwards. The ground was freezing cold, no longer the smooth marble but now having a sheet of ice over it.

The farther down they slid the thicker the ice got, and before they knew it there was no possible way either of them could stop. The floor decline became more drastic, to the point where they might as well have been sliding down a water slide. Kurt kept whimpering, pain exploding from his ankle. He twisted it awkwardly when he fell, and it kept banging off things as they slid farther and farther down the never ending passage. Always colder and always gaining speed.

Blaine swore, keeping a hold of Kurt as they slid deeper and deeper into this strange castle. Kurt kept his eyes screwed shut, scared of absolutely everything at that moment. The only link to reality he had was the feeling of Blaine holding onto him tightly, and he could have cried. For some reason he didn't want to feel this way. There was something holding him back. That's when he realized something.

Everything in this world seemed to mess with them in one way or another. Maybe this could be just another one of those things. Blaine never actually did anything wrong, even though every fiber of his being was screaming otherwise. He had never felt this mad at anyone before, the emotions just feeling fake and pale compared to what he felt when Blaine held him close.

"B-Blaine," Kurt mumbled into Blaine's chest, not entirely sure Blaine could even hear him. Blaine made a strangled noise in his throat, trying to ask Kurt what was wrong but he just couldn't form the words. "I'm sorry," Kurt said, his eyes freezing with the tears that were forming. He pressed a small kiss to Blaine's chest, it being the only part of Blaine he could really reach at the moment. Blaine held him tighter, and Kurt took that to mean he was forgiven. Kurt snuggled his face into Blaine's chest, feeling a lot less cold and lonely.

Huh, maybe it wasn't just Blaine that was making him feel warmer. Things seemed to be warming up. And slowing down. The decline of the floor seemed to be lifting, and they were slowing down. It seemed like everything was starting to look up as Kurt nuzzled into Blaine's chest, all his negative feelings being replaced by the warm fuzzing feelings he was so much more accustomed to.

"I love you," Kurt said, holding Blaine tighter. He felt so horrible about everything he said. Blaine deserved none of it. He had no idea what had come over him, but it was over now, and he was eager to show Blaine how sorry he was.

"I love you, too," Blaine replied, sounding distant and tired. He brought hand up to cradle the back of Kurt's neck, feeling horribly sore and tired.

"Well, isn't that just so sweet I could throw up," a cold, female voice said. Kurt looked up, his body screaming in protest after everything that had happened. He saw an annoyed looking tan woman, with black hair thrown back in a curled ponytail. She had a thorny black tiara upon her head, and she seemed to give off an aura of cold.

"Hello," Kurt said, not even taking offense to these types of things anymore. He sat up, still shivering but so much better than how he felt earlier. The floor wasn't even icy anymore, and as he looked around, he couldn't find any leftovers of the ice. The woman got a small smile.

"Don't bother, it's gone now," she said, extending a hand to help him up. He took her hand, her long nails digging into his soft skin painfully. He wasn't sure whether she did that on purpose or not, but he didn't say anything, helping Blaine up instead. His ankle still hurt whenever he put pressure on it, but he was sure it would be fine.

"What was it?" Blaine asked, making sure Kurt looked like he was okay.

"A trap," the woman said simply. She had on a simple black dress, and although she looked amazing in it, there was something so cold and unappealing about her neither boy wanted to get too close. "You two got out of it," she stated simply. "Walk with me."

She turned, and started walking down a marble hall. Although there was no ice, it still looked exactly like every other castle they had been in, including the corridor they just slid down. It was just.. colder. She led them down the empty hall, leading them to a dead end. There was a large, ornate chair, almost being able to be described as a throne at the end of the hall, which she slipped onto gracefully. There were other, more normal chairs spread out, and she motioned for them to sit, which they did.

"So," she said, crossing her legs. "What brings you here?" She raised a dark eyebrow as she waited for them to answer. "Peace mission?" She asked with a smile when neither Kurt nor Blaine could articulate. Kurt deftly nodded. "Isn't that sweet." The woman said with a smile. "It's been awhile since I've seen one of you."

Kurt and Blaine shared a nervous glance.

"How long?" Blaine asked, swallowing. The woman smiled.

"Years," she stated simply. "You know, the smart ones go to the nice people first. I wonder how long you two'll last," Kurt cut her off.

"We did," Kurt said, and the woman looked surprised he would interrupt her.

"Excuse me?" She asked slowly, her eyes narrowing.

"We did go there first," Kurt tried to clarify, his throat tightening. "And now we're here." The woman looked mildly impressed for a flash.

"Oh," she said, running a hand over her hair, checking to make sure it was still all contained by the ponytail. "I don't think I remember that ever happening before. Let me introduce myself. My name is Santana, or, how you might know me as," she smiled, as if she found the nickname mildly amusing. "The Dark Queen, that's it, isn't it?"

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><p>AND THERE IT IS. A lot of you were right, yeeeehaw~ Surprisingly, I don't have much to say, except I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.<p>

Oh, wait, I know. I posted the first chapter of my new Glee fic, Treat Tessellate the other night. I'm going to update it before the next chapter of this one probably. It's easier to write when I have ~~~~variety~~~~. So, yeah, if you liked this you might like that. Only it's going to be a lot different than this one, like, more focused around everyone than just Klaine. Lord of the Flies themed, yeah. Well, I hope you guys liked the update :'D


	27. Chapter 27

Sorry guys. Before you send me to the gallows, please understand Oedipus, my faithful laptop/lover suffered a terrible accident. I won't get into details, but it involved a hammer. Anyways, he was completely shot, so I had nothing to write on. Unless I like wanted to go to the library or something. Not that I'm apposed to writing porn while getting watched by an admin, I just don't live close enough to a library. Anyways I waited in line for five hours on Black Friday for this baby c:

I could have waited longer and not had to scrounge up the money so fast, but I didn't want you guys thinking I like, died or something. I didn't wanna just post a new chapter explaining the situation because authors who do that are right up there with authors who set review limits in my book. Anyways, sorry. Expect frequent updates now that I have my shiny new laptop, Jeremiah. c:

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><p>"Can you stop looking at me like you expect me to scream 'off with their heads' or something?" Santana asked an immeasurable amount of time later. Kurt fidgeted uncomfortably on the icy chair, everything from his waist down having long since gone numb. He exchanged a nervous glance with Blaine, who's face was stark white. The contrast of his black hair against the pale skin was almost laughable, if not for the situation.<p>

"Sorry?" Kurt offered weakly, even his vocal cords feeling frozen. He felt too cold to even shiver as he looked up at Santana, who was wearing a superior smirk. That smirk seemed to be tattooed on her face, as neither Kurt nor Blaine had yet seen it falter.

"I accept your apology," Santana said with a small wave of her hand. Neither boy said anything, not really sure what to reply to that with. When Santana's expression started to grow increasingly annoyed, Blaine finally said something.

"Thanks," he said quickly, and her anger immediately dissolved. He had met a lot of crazy women in his adventures. Santana was quickly working to get to the top of the list, and the longer he sat with her, the more he disliked her. Quite honestly the only thing he really wanted was to get away from her and her freezing home and all the cold.

"Now," Santana said, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "What did she say?"

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked slowly, scared to offend this crazy woman.

"Brittany. Did she say anything about me? What did she look like? What was she feeling?" Kurt and Blaine looked at each other awkwardly as Santana continued to peddle out personal questions. To be honest, they didn't see her long enough to know any of this stuff. Judging by the way Santana was looking increasingly nervous, Kurt wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or not. He decided to play his cards safe. He remembered for a second that long-winded explanation Quinn gave him and Blaine so long ago, about having cunning and whatnot. He needed that now more than ever.

"She seemed to be doing well," Kurt said slowly, trying to gauge a reaction. For a split second, he thought he saw a flicker of relief over Santana's face. He smiled to himself.

"I see," Santana said indifferently. Blaine opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Kurt quickly shook his head no. He was pretty sure Blaine would catch on to what he was up to eventually. "So, did she," Santana hinted at, doing a pretty bad job of hiding her emotions.

"Say anything about you?" Kurt finished her sentence, trying to read her expressions. She gave a quick nod, indicating him to go on. In all honesty he had only seen Brittany for a grand total of about five minutes, so he would have to be very creative here. Whether Santana's interest stemmed from hatred or not, there was obviously a lot of emotion wrapped up in the situation.

"Yes," Santana said a little too quickly. She was nervous.

"A little," Kurt said, biting his lip harshly. Should he really say this next part? He swallowed, deciding to just go for it. "She was pretty busy with Artie,"

"What?" Santana said, her eyes cold. She crossed her legs again, her foot bobbling quickly as a means to relieve frustration.

"Not fond of him?" Kurt asked softly.

"All of them, they're all just so," Santana pursed her lips, trying to think of the best way to word the rest of her sentence. "Undesirable," she finished. "I always hated the mermaids." She wrinkled her nose.

"Why?" Blaine asked, legitimately confused. How could anyone hate them? Sure, they could be a little too personal sometimes, and didn't really have any idea of the borders surrounding public displays of affection, but still. They were a really enjoyable group to him, for the most part.

"They're just so," Santana began, her distaste splayed all over her face. "Loving."

"What's wrong with that?" Blaine asked. He looked over at Kurt for clarification, but was surprised to see Kurt's annoyed expression. Kurt mouthed out 'idiot' in his direction.

"Go to hell," Santana said simply before turning her attention back to Kurt. "I'm through here."

"But, wait," Kurt said frantically as she stood up. "We still have a lot to tell you, we nee-"

"I don't care," Santana said coldly, grinding her teeth. Her tanned face was slowly reddening, her hands clenched into fists at either side of her.

"I know you do care," Blaine said quietly. It probably wasn't the best idea of his, but he felt like it needed to be said. Even if it made Santana mad, it was the truth and he was pretty sure everyone there knew it. She turned and met eyes with him, giving him the coldest glare she could muster at the moment. Every line seemed to add more definition to her cold face. Blaine shivered a little, but it had nothing to do with the freezing temperatures of the room.

He was expected her to yell at him or threaten him, or anything of that vein, really. What happened next, nobody expected.

"Follow me," she said simply. Kurt and Blaine stood slowly, and followed her as she walked down the icy hall. Kurt gave Blaine a look that clearly said 'if she doesn't kill you, I _will_.' Blaine tried to give him a little smile, but it was in vain.

While walking down the hallway, they actually had to be careful. Occasionally their foot would hit a previously-invisible patch of ice on the marble floor, and one of the two boys would have to flail around to try and keep their balance. Blaine actually fell on his face once, but Santana kept walking in her long strides, already rounding two corners before Blaine could keep up. Kurt helped him up, but refused to look at him in the eyes.

If either boy were in the right state of mind, they would have taken more interest in their surroundings. The only thing that was similar to the other castles they had been in was the marble floor, and it didn't even have the same design; it was black. No portraits or pictures were held on the walls, which were little more than smooth cement. Occasionally there was an off patch of wall. Something was wrong with the color, a dark stain of some sort. If either boy were paying any sort of attention, they would have realized they were in a dungeon.

"You will stay here," Santana said, that icy quality still not having left her voice. She reached out to the door embedded in the wall of cement, hard and cold and black. There was a very large deadbolt above the handle of the door.

"W-Why is there that lock?" Kurt asked, fighting to keep his voice steady. Oddly enough, Santana smiled.

"Safety reasons," she said simply, giving the lock a little tap with her index finger. The door swung open a little, and she grasped the steel handle, pulling the door open. Kurt and Blaine nervously looked inside the newly reveled room. They were expecting something similar to the outside corridors. What they got was totally different.

The black marble floor expanded to inside the room, which was unusual. Every other room they had come to in different castles had plush carpeting, or at least some sort of substitute for the hallway flooring. It was a strange thing to miss, but, really, it one one of the biggest differences. The ceiling and walls were all grey cement, colorless and boring. There were no decorations of any sort, just a large bed up against the fall wall of the door. The sheets were black and honestly didn't look very comfortable. There was another black door, but this time without a deadbolt (thankfully) leading to an adjoining bathroom.

"It's... nice," Kurt said with a fake smile. Santana smiled back, taking a liking to Kurt.

"Best we have. The Underground was not created for comfort, you know."

"I understand," Kurt said slowly, not really knowing what to say. Were he and Blaine really going to stay the night or day or whatever the hell time it was with _her_? Wasn't she the bad guy, here? She didn't seem all that too terrible to him, but he knew looks could be deceiving.

"In you go, I'll send someone to get you for dinner," she said as the boys walked inside the cold room, feeling highly uncomfortable.

"Are we not aloud to leave?" Kurt asked awkwardly. Santana looked momentarily shocked.

"That wouldn't be very safe for you two, but I suppose you could if you wanted." She pursed her lips. "You might not exactly like what you see, though." A small smile graced her lips as she looked at Kurt and Blaine's shocked expressions. "See you then," she said, slowly shutting the heavy door.

Kurt and Blaine stared at the ominous, looming door for a second before saying anything. The gravity of the situation was really weighing down on them; speaking felt almost improper. That was, until Kurt remembered: this was all Blaine's fault.

"How _could_ you?" He finally said, turning to Blaine. Blaine stared back at him with those big, adorable puppy eyes. "Don't you give me that look."

"I'm sorry," Blaine said. Blaine's apology just made Kurt angrier.

"Sorry just doesn't cut it, Blaine. We're locked in here because _you_ couldn't keep your mouth shut. Seriously? How hard is it to just sit there quietly? You just _had_ to go piss her off, and look were we are now. Honestly, I just don- oh." Kurt's rant was cut off by Blaine wrapping his arms around Kurt, pulling him into a tender hug.

"I'm sorry," Blaine repeated. When Blaine was this close to him, when he could feel Blaine's heartbeat against his skin, even through layers of clothing, when he could feel Blaine's breath against his neck, it was nearly impossible not to forgive him. Nearly, being the key word.

"Blaine, I just don't," Kurt began, his tone much more tender this time.

"Things have been so difficult for us lately," Blaine said, his voice as soft as his touch, as he ran his hands up and down Kurt's back. "I didn't mean to provoke her, I didn't want to make things worse. I just... Kurt, I just can't understand why someone would be so against love. I love you, I love you so so so so _so_ much. And you know what? I feel like I found out why she's so cruel."

"Why?" Kurt asked, most of his question coming out as a moan as Blaine pressed soft kisses to the exposed skin of his neck.

"You're so cold, we need to warm you up," Blaine stated, every other kiss pronounced with a light suck or nibble.

"H-here?" Kurt finally said, already feeling flustered. His heart hammered against his chest as Blaine backed him towards the door, his back gently touching the cool metal there. Any concerns Kurt had about their surroundings quickly vanished into thin air as Blaine trailed his hands down to Kurt's hips, slowly bringing them back up, taking Kurt's shirt with them.

Kurt groaned as his bare back hit the metal, his skin already heating up in response to Blaine's touch. It wasn't an altogether bad feeling, exactly. The excitement of doing _this_ in such a strange place, mixed with the coolness of the air against his hot skin, and the pleasurable sparks of pain as Blaine bit down rather roughly.. Just, God. Blaine was right. This was exactly what they needed.

Kurt felt the blood pumping south as he began to harden, and was glad to feel he wasn't alone. Blaine's responding erection was pushing against his leg, hard. Kurt decided to take some pity on him, quickly undoing Blaine's pants and letting them, along with his boxers, fall to his feet. His were quickly gone in Blaine's frenzy, too, and before he knew it there was a soft thud as Blaine dropped to his knees.

Kurt made a guttural noise in his throat as Blaine's mouth finally sunk around his fully-hardened length. He bucked his hips as gently as possible as Blaine worked through the rhythms, rubbing his tongue here, or applying a bit more pressure there. He knew exactly what Kurt liked, after all.

Within minutes Kurt was pouring his seed directly down Blaine's throat, not being able to take it any longer. If it were anyone else but Blaine, he would have probably been embarrassed about finishing so fast, but it was different. It was Blaine. Blaine who loved him.

The moment Blaine pulled off Kurt, Kurt sunk to his knees, feeling too spent to stand any longer. Blaine pushed him to sit properly, with his back resting against the door, and pulled Kurt into a kiss. Kurt groaned, attempting to return Blaine's eager kisses. He reached out with an exhausted hand, wrapping it around Blaine's aching arousal. It only took three pumps until Blaine's hot seed was spurting out, and Blaine collapsed onto Kurt in a sticky mess.

Kurt wanted to squirm out from under Blaine because, well, _ew_. But he stayed there, just for the sake of feeling closer to Blaine. He sat there, leaning against the freezing door with an armful of Blaine, who was hell-bent on snuggling at the moment, no matter how uncomfortably.

"Blaine," Kurt sighed later, stroking Blaine's hair gently.

"Mmmm?" Blaine asked, his face buried in the crook of Kurt's neck.

"We need to get up, Baby," Kurt mumbled. "It's getting cold again. We don't have any clothes on." Blaine groaned, nuzzling his face down even deeper, breathing in Kurt's scent for a few seconds before responding.

"I like it better this way," Blaine responded. He yawned. "You know, one day, when this is all over, we can be naked all the time."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Blaine," Kurt said, smiling a little at Blaine's sleep-induced mumblings. "You would want to stay with me, once we get home, though?" Kurt asked. Blaine didn't respond. Instead, his breathing got deeper as he went completely lax in Kurt's arms. Kurt rolled his eyes, looking down affectionately at Blaine's sleeping form. He smiled to himself, thinking maybe staying together wouldn't be that bad of an idea. That is, as long as Blaine would want to, too.

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><p>After much coaxing, it became obvious to Kurt that he was not getting Blaine up off the freezing floor by reason. So, then he tried threatening. That yielded no results, either. Kurt sighed, having just gotten Blaine dressed. It would be impossible to get the pants back on him, but he would be fine for now with the boxers and shirt, Kurt supposed. Once Kurt checked the floor to make sure he cleaned up everything, he grabbed Blaine's arm, and unceremoniously started dragging him towards the bed. Blaine didn't even flinch. Typical.<p>

Then came the task of lifting him up onto the bed, and under the covers. By the time he was finished, there was a slight knock on the door.

"Yes?" Kurt asked, pulling the uncomfortable blankets up to Blaine's neck. There was no response, just another knock. Slightly creeped out, Kurt walked to the door, and tried to pull it open. The door didn't budge, it was too heavy. Really wishing Blaine would just wake up, Kurt grabbed the freezing handle with both hands, putting all his weight into the pull. Slowly, the door started to move, and he redoubled his efforts. Eventually, he had it opened enough to see whoever was on the other side.

"Yes?" Kurt asked again, peeking through the few inches of space to the other side. His fingers were starting to go numb, so he let go of the handle.

"Ahh, I see you're awake," said a freakishly familiar voice. No, no, it couldn't be... The figure moved to peek back through the crack, and Kurt could have fainted. It was Jacob Israel.

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><p>So, there we have it. I hope it was worth the wait, but I doubt it. It'll take a bit to get back in the swing of things. I haven't written anything but like technical papers for a month, mind you. I love you all for your patience, though! c:~ Juicy Santana details next chap~<p> 


	28. Chapter 28

Jacob smiled at Kurt, his thin, cracked lips displaying two rows of hideously unkempt teeth. Even his teeth had the greenish tint, but his gums were bulging and an unnaturally red color, as if swollen with infection. Kurt fought back a gag.

"Jacob," Kurt began, trying to keep his voice strong. Immediately Blaine perked his head off the bed at hearing the name. The sheet pulled up to his neck rolled back a little as Blaine supported himself on two elbows, craning his neck to look in the doorway.

"What do you want?" Blaine immediately began, jumping out of bed and onto the freezing floor. Although Kurt was facing a man who could and would tear them to shreds given the opportunity he rolled his eyes instead of being terrified. If he had known all it would take would be the leader of the Goblins to come knocking on their door to get Blaine up he would have called him earlier. Kidding. Almost.

Jacob smiled upon looking at Blaine's scantily-clad figure. He didn't try to hide looking at Blaine's form up and down. Blaine seemed to remember just being in his boxers and t-shirt, but made no attempt at preserving his modesty. Instead, he sneered at Jacob.

"I warn you, I like them feisty," the goblin replied in his nasally voice. "If I knew it wouldn't cost me my life I would take you here and now. However, my mistress has sent me to retrieve you two to dine with her. She would like," he paused, as if thinking over his next words carefully. "Answers," he finally settled on.

Unabashed Blaine immediately grabbed his scattered clothing off the floor and began dressing himself. Kurt noticed a fire in his eyes that he had never quite seen before. The idea of protecting Kurt from this disgusting monster made Blaine's blood run thick with fire.

Wordlessly, they followed Jacob down several flights of stairs and around slick corners. Kurt felt the cold seeping into his very bones and felt as though he would never be warm again. His legs were just stiff joints vaguely responding to his brain's commands as they entered a large dining room.

Kurt and Blaine had been into several castles to date, none of which as uninviting as the Dark Queen Santana's. Gloom seemed to hang over every room like a fog, infecting anyone nearby. The goblin Jacob seemed to thrive on it. Instead of his legs looking as bony as they did in the forest they were bulging with newfound muscles as he fed off the negative energy.

Jacob's attitude had also changed. There was an aura of arrogance surrounding him that was missing before. Although Kurt and Blaine had only met him the one time they could tell that, in the forest, he was powerful, but they felt safe with Artie. Now, however, Kurt pondered, looking over the sickeningly green creature, he wasn't sure if a God could save them.

With one last sneer at Blaine, and a pronounced wink at Kurt, Jacob vanished back into the doorway and down the long corridor they had just traveled. Kurt took a moment to shake off the disgusting implications of Jacob's wink, and to look over the dining room he had led them to.

Like every other room in the castle, the main theme was black. Dark draperies hung over the windows Kurt had previously been unaware of. The main light came from a large chandelier hovering several feet over the long, rectangular dining table. The chandelier shone with black diamonds and other precious jewels encrusting it's surface. Upon further inspection Kurt decided that the room could have been very beautiful with the right designer.

There was the outline of a large brick fireplace on the far corner of the room that didn't look like it had housed a fire since before Kurt's grandparents were alive. The walls, like the walls in the corridors, were void of any decoration or attempt at making the room look at all domesticated.

The long dining table was a beautiful shade of deep mahogany, buffed and shined to gleam in the prisms of light from the chandelier. There must have been room for at least twenty people on each side of the table, but no chairs. There was just one at the far end of the table which Santana was currently occupying. There were two more laid out on the opposite end, closest to Kurt and Blaine.

Santana looked very cruel and beautiful in the limited lighting, her thin cheeks giving her face a sort of hallow appearance. The thorny tiara upon her head looked extremely fitting, if she was going for, you know, Queen and Lord of All Things Terrible and Unholy. She certainly gave her interior decorating that theme when she hired whoever the poor decorator was. _The decorator wasn't very creative, _Kurt thought, giving a fleeting glimpse at the gloomy room.

Santana silently motioned for them to sit with a delicate wave of her arm, and they did. Blaine pulled out a chair for Kurt. Kurt sat down with a smile, and Santana let out an audible growl.

"Do not ruin my appetite," she warned, eyeing the boys distastefully. She raised a thin eyebrow. "Do not forget I hold the power to kill you both where you stand."

"I can see you don't entertain much," Kurt said passively, brushing off what Santana had threatened. If that bitch knew half of what he had gone threw in the past few months she would know a measly threat wouldn't make him shake in his boots.

Kurt could have sworn he saw a hint of a smile as Santana cleared her throat. Almost as if on cue wave after wave of goblins began entering the room. Blaine put a hand on Kurt's arm instinctively, but soon realized there was nothing to be afraid of.

Each one of the disfigured goblins carried a tray of food, and put their tray down on the table before leaving the room. Kurt and Blaine took in each goblin as they silently preformed their job. Having beetle-like eyes such as Jacob's did not seem to be an average physical characteristic for the goblins. Each one, although similar in size and stature, had widely varying features. Some goblin's eyes were as big as the dinner plates in their hands, watery and disproportional to their face.

There were others whose eyes were as small as Jacob's, and even some much smaller to resemble pinpricks. Some had bulbous noses that seemed to be constantly dripping, and Blaine could have sworn he saw one or two without a nose at all. It was almost like they were each unfortunately thrown together with whatever parts or pieces were on hand at the time. There didn't seem to be much physically different in size or dressing that separated males from females.

Once the table was full, Kurt and Blaine had to admit they were skeptical about eating anything presumably prepared by these beasts. Santana, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all. Instead of inviting Kurt and Blaine to eat she reached out to a nearby plate with her fork and stabbed a greenish slab of meat on it. Thick blood gurgled out of the fork holes on the meat, making terms such as 'E. Coli' and 'Salmonella' come to Kurt's mind.

Showing an impressive array of table manners, Santana brought the dripping piece of meat directly to her mouth and took a heaping bite, chewing loudly. Blaine's face wrinkled in disgust. Santana swallowed and took a large gulp from a nearby goblet of blood-red liquid. Kurt rolled his eyes. Did she really have to go that far to set the theme? Yeah, dangerous castle, villain queen ruler here, he gets it.

"We need to talk," Kurt finally said, finding his voice. Santana smiled.

"Do not think that I'm just keeping you alive to get word about Brittany," she began. She didn't want to sound desperate. On the inside she was just dying to know everything about how Brittany was doing. She could not believe these two idiots had found their way halfway around the world and back. Why were they not smart enough to stay in one of the scant safe places littered along the way? Or at the very least stay with Brittany. That's what all the other's ended up doing. Well, almost all the other's. Except for the ones who found themselves littered along the front lines of battle.

"Then are you willing to discuss peace?" Blaine asked hopefully. Santana cackled.

"And give up all the power I've come to know and love?" She asked incredulously. She dismissed the idea immediately. "Here in my castle I have everything I have ever wanted. I only needed to walk a path paved in other's blood to get here. I would never lose sleep over it. There is no one in all the lands greater than I. Just the sound of my voice is enough to cause millions to shiver in fear. My power is so great you pathetic humans run and hide in your ignorant cities. One day those too will not be safe and you will all suffer the same fate as the thousands before you." Santana seemed out of breath; as if this was something she had been dying to get off her chest for a long time. She smiled so hard at the sound of her threats that she had dimples formed in her cheeks. Despite everything she had just said, only one question came to Blaine's mind.

"Why?" He asked simply. He couldn't see any feasible explanation for anyone to have as deep of a hatred of life as she. A blank look crossed her face for the briefest of moments.

"I need no reason to spread destruction and mayhem," Santana said simply, giving her curly ponytail a quick twirl with a finger. "If my path eventually leads to Brittany it will be as it is written. I would strike her down without a second thought as I have done thousands." Kurt tilted his head to the side slightly, an idea coming to his mind.

"I'm sure something had to have occurred at one point in time to make you so spiteful," Kurt began. He absentmindedly put his hand on Blaine's a common gesture of his growing love and affection he never even gave a second thought to these days. He sure couldn't imagine his life without Blaine. Before he could finish his thought, however, Santana cut him off.

"I will have NONE of that at my table," she screeched, the sound of her voice dripping with distain. She sneered at the sight of their hand holding and her power visibly cackled in the air around her head. Kurt immediately let go of Blaine's warm hand.

"I'm sorry," Kurt began slowly, legitimately terrified. His eyes grew wide as Santana's face began to visibly distort into a mask of anger.

"I do not need your signs and murmurs of LOVE in my home," she seemed to make this word sound like a swear the way she spat it out. "There is no need for it! Just speaking to you two has made me think of things I haven't thought of in years, things I am _above._" She stopped suddenly, a glimmering sheen of sweat on her beautiful face. Kurt and Blaine wondered how often these sorts of outbursts happened around Santana. "I do not even care if Brittany were to die. It wouldn't affect me here. I have replaced her with my loyal goblins. They would never leave me as she did."

With that last statement, Santana grew quiet, not seeming her usual superior self. Kurt could almost forgive her of all her crimes for a second. She wasn't just pure evil; she didn't take pleasure in all the suffering she caused others. She was masking her true feelings and pain with causing harm to others. The realization struck Kurt all at once, and his heart did truly bleed for her.

She was not the Dark Queen everyone hailed her as. She was simply the victim of a broken heart.


End file.
